Flawed Perfection
by HardyBoyz4Eva
Summary: Kane/Zack, Past Kane/Lita. All his life, Kane has been told that he is a monster. He doesn't deserve to be loved. He doesn't deserve to live. Now, all he has to live for are a child that's never seen his face and a brother who wants him to rot in hell. Kane's been taken to his limit. The heartless monster is in need of a savior like never before… Please Review!
1. Introduction

**Title:** Flawed Perfection

**Rated:** M (Mature)

**Genre(s):** Romance/Angst

**Pair(s):** Kane/Zack, Kane/Lita

**Summary:** All his life, Kane has been told that he is a monster. He doesn't deserve to be loved. He doesn't deserve to live. His wife, the woman who claimed to love him for better or worse, tried to break him from the inside out. Now, all he has to live for are a child that's never seen his face and a brother who wants him to rot in hell. Kane's been taken to his limit. The heartless monster is in need of a savior like never before…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, besides the child.

**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Violence, Cruelty, etc.

**Part:** 1/? – Introduction

**OOOO**

"M-Mask?" A small hand stroked the contours of his red leather mask. The hand memorized each inch of leather, almost as if the skin that was hidden underneath would come to the surface from the subtle touch.

"Yes. It's a mask." Kane affirmed the child's earlier statement. He continued to allow the touch, even if it unnerved him to have someone so close to his scars. He didn't wish to alarm the child.

"Why?" The inquiry was so soft, so tentative, that he almost didn't hear it. Shockingly blue eyes flickered up and met dark brown seas of melted chocolate. "Why do you wear the mask?"

"Because…" Kane trailed off. How could he impart twenty-some years of torment on this innocent soul? The answer was simple. He couldn't. "Because I don't like the way I look underneath."

"Why not?" It was an innocent question, not meant to irritate. But it did. It crawled under his skin and made him so very uneasy. He couldn't ruin this child like he had been ruined.

"Because I'm not pretty like you are." Kane answered. It was true. The child was so very pretty, from her doe-like eyes to her soft red curls. And Kane was… well, a monster.

The child chuckled softly. "You're not supposed to be pretty. You're a man. You're _handsome_."

"I'm not handsome, either." Kane denied.

The small head tilted to the side. His beautiful baby batted her thick lashes at him. "Won't you take the mask off, Daddy? I want to see your face."

Kane shook his head. "Not now, sweetheart. Maybe tomorrow, okay?"

"You said that yesterday." The child said defensively.

"I don't _want_ to take the mask off!" Kane lashed out viciously. The child flinched, because Kane had never shouted at her before. Immediately, Kane calmed down and reached out for her. "C'mere, Nell. I'm sorry that I yelled."

Hesitantly, Nell climbed into her father's arms. "I didn't mean to make Daddy mad."

Kane shushed her, before he kissed her forehead softly. "You didn't make me mad, sweetie. I could never be mad at you. Just… I swear that we'll will talk about this later, okay? Now, it's time for bed."

As if on cue, Nell yawned dramatically. "Okay."

Nell allowed her father to carry her to the twin bed underneath the window. Her black and white baby blanket was stretched out on the small mattress. Kane fell to his knees beside the bed and tucked the four-year-old in, before he tucked her soft red curls behind her ear. She looked so much like her mother that sometimes, it hurt to look at her. It hurt to remember what Lita had done to him, how she had betrayed him. Often, he wondered if Lita had ever loved him. Or had she used him like everyone else?

The Big Red Monster could still remember finding Lita in bed with Matt Hardy. The woman that he had loved, the first person that he had willingly opened his heart to after the monstrosities that Paul Bearer had subjected him to, had betrayed him. She had walked out on him and Nell. And after that, Kane had vowed to never allow anyone to hurt him or his baby like that again. For being such a horrific monster, Kane could be extremely sensitive when it came to his baby. She was the only one allowed in his shattered heart.

Kane watched as the tiny child's body nestled down in her blankets and she fell asleep. When he was sure that she wouldn't awaken for some time, he reached behind his head and unbuckled the straps of his mask. If he had his way, Nell would never have to see the horrible scars that marred his face underneath. Lita had seen and she had shunned him. But even after all this time, his heart still fluttered at the sound of her name. Kane shook his head, before he kissed Nell's forehead. Love was an overrated, idiotic emotion.

**OOOO**

**A/N:** Please Review! More reviews – faster updates!


	2. A is for Anger

**Title:** Flawed Perfection

**Rated:** M (Mature)

**Genre(s):** Romance/Angst

**Pair(s):** Kane/Zack, Kane/Lita

**Summary:** All his life, Kane has been told that he is a monster. He doesn't deserve to be loved. He doesn't deserve to live. His wife, the woman who claimed to love him for better or worse, tried to break him from the inside out. Now, all he has to live for are a child that's never seen his face and a brother who wants him to rot in hell. Kane's been taken to his limit. The heartless monster is in need of a savior like never before…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, besides the child.

**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Violence, Cruelty, etc.

**Part:** 2/? – A is for Anger

**OOOO**

Nell suckled on her dark red binky, her chocolate eyes hazed over with a tiredness that made her small body seem rather heavy. Her soft red curls were tied back with a black velvet ribbon, and she was dressed in a red and black sundress. Kane had taken her out for ice cream earlier, and even after he had washed her hands numerous times, the sweet stickiness was still on her hands. All around, she looked to be a sweet, innocent four-year-old. One would never assume that she was the child of the WWE's most hated monster.

The small child was terribly lost in the framework of the arena. Kane had vanished and she was terrified. What if someone had hurt her Daddy? She wandered down another hall, where an ambulance waited. A man came around the other corner with a lifeless woman in his arms, and Nell cowered and hid as best she could behind the wall. The woman's screams filled the vacant corridor. And then, there was a hurried exclamation before the ambulance drove off. Hesitantly, Nell looked around the corner. She recoiled seconds before she could be rundown by a wheelchair.

She made a small noise behind her binky. The auburn-haired man turned to her, his eyes wide. "Oh, I'm so sorry baby. Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head, too afraid to talk.

"You don't want to talk, huh? Well, that's okay. My name's Matt, but almost everyone calls Zack." The man known as Zack offered her a brilliant smile. She smiled around her binky. "Are you lost, sweetheart?"

Nell took the binky out of her mouth and batted her dark eyelashes at him. "I can't find my Daddy. He said that he would be back by now, but he's not and I'm worried about him."

Zack nodded. "Can you tell me what he looks like?"

"He's big." Nell said matter-of-factly.

Well, that narrowed it down to about one-hundred percent of the WWE. And, when one considered her size, everyone would look like he was the size of Show. Zack looked down at the little child, who batted her eyelashes and swayed back and forth much like a love-stricken AJ when she swooned over Daniel Bryan. She had stuck the binky back into her mouth and had started to suck on it lazily. The kid was rather cute, Zack thought. But in all of his time in the WWE, he had never seen her before…

"Can you tell me more about him?" Zack asked. The child blinked at him innocently.

"He's the bestest, most nicest man in the whole wild world." Nell answered with a certain wistfulness in her voice that told Zack that she believed her father was the best man in the entire world. "But he's been sad lately…"

"Why has he been sad?" Zack asked, honestly interested in what the child had to say.

"He doesn't like to talk about it. But I think it's 'cause he misses Mommy."

Zack didn't want to pry further, because it was obviously a tender area. "What else can you tell me about him? What color hair does he have?"

"Brown." Nell said.

"What color are his eyes?" Zack asked.

"Blue." Nell answered. It sounded more like 'boo', but Zack understood.

Zack looked around. He knew that the small child couldn't offer much more in the way of assistance, so he would have to do most of the work. That was, of course, until Kane stormed down the hall. His fury was obvious, even beneath the mask that he wore. He tore off his black leather gloves and threw them on the ground in his frustration. Nell's chocolate eyes widened considerably, before she took off toward Kane. Zack had half a mind to warn her that Kane was volatile and his mood could never be trusted, but then the unthinkable occurred…

The Big Red Monster scooped the four-year-old into his arms and kissed her forehead softly. The baby squealed, kicking her little legs out as Kane tickled her stomach. Where was all of the frustration, the angst, the _fury_ that Zack had seen when Kane threw Eve into the back of that ambulance and tried to drive off with her? He didn't know, but he didn't have too much time to think when Kane suddenly turned to him. The brunette looked him over once, before he looked at the little child in his arms.

"Thank you." The monster said after a minute. Zack's heart stopped. He couldn't have heard that right. "You made sure that she didn't become even more lost then she already was or became hurt… thank you for that."

"Y-You're welcome." Zack's voice trembled as he said this.

"She wasn't too much trouble, was she?" Kane asked.

Quickly, Zack shook his head. It made his neck crack uncomfortably, but he didn't care. "No. Not at all."

With that said, Kane walked away with the child in his arms. Nell leaned over his shoulder and waved at him. Zack couldn't help but smile a little at that. Even if he had only known her for a few minutes, she had somehow managed to worm her way into his heart. Zack found himself drawn to the little girl. And, somehow, the fact that she was Kane's child made him even more interested in her. He wanted to know more about her. However, he knew that this would not be the last time he would see her…

**OOOO**

**A/N:** Please Review!


	3. B is for Brace

**Title:** Flawed Perfection

**Rated:** M (Mature)

**Genre(s):** Romance/Angst

**Pair(s):** Kane/Zack, Kane/Lita

**Summary:** All his life, Kane has been told that he is a monster. He doesn't deserve to be loved. He doesn't deserve to live. His wife, the woman who claimed to love him for better or worse, tried to break him from the inside out. Now, all he has to live for are a child that's never seen his face and a brother who wants him to rot in hell. Kane's been taken to his limit. The heartless monster is in need of a savior like never before…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, besides the child.

**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Violence, Cruelty, etc.

**Part:** 3/? – B is for Brace

**OOOO**

Zack sat on the thin, white bed in the doctor's office. The room was rather familiar. There was an illustration of a small child in a field of dandelions with a mansion off in the distance on the wall across from him. Underneath of the illustration was a counter lined with various containers which held items such as smelling salts and purple latex-free gloves. To his left, there was a small window with the blinds half drawn. The window looked out on the endless field that seemed to surround the office. His wheelchair was underneath the window.

Zack anxiously awaited the results of his most recent x-ray. If this went his way, he would be able to kick that ridiculous wheelchair to the curb and move on to start to train for future matches. Besides, the neck brace was extremely irritating. He didn't think that he really needed it anymore, but he would wear it just to be safe in case he had another run in with Kane. Actually, come to think of it, he hadn't seen much of the monster ever since he tried to abduct Eve on Raw…

His thought process was interrupted, however, by the sudden appearance of his doctor. "Good morning, Mr. Cardona. How do you feel?"

"I've felt better." Zack said honestly. "But it's not because of the injury. I've had a hard week." He felt his heart twist at the memory of Eve in his best friend's arms. "How did the x-rays come out?"

Dr. Andre smiled. "I have wonderful news, Mr. Cardona. Your days in a wheelchair are officially behind you."

"Thank God…" Zack breathed out. He wasn't sure how much of that blasted contraption he could take.

"Now, you will have to use a crutch or a cane for the next week and a half. It's only a precaution, really. I just want to make sure that you don't take on too much too fast." Dr. Andre said. "Which would you prefer?"

"I think that I'd rather use the cane." Zack answered.

Dr. Andre nodded. "Here, take this one. When you have your check-in next week, just bring it to the office with you and we'll take it back. Okay?"

"Yes. Thank you." Zack smiled. "But, I do have one more question."

"Of course." Dr. Andre said.

"Do I still have to wear the neck brace?"

Dr. Andre nodded again. "I'm very sorry, but I'm not comfortable taking it off yet. It should be fine to take off by the time you check-in next week, however."

"Okay." Zack said dejectedly. It _would_ be his luck that he would have to wear the brace for another week.

"Take care of yourself, Mr. Cardona. You can schedule your check-in with Beatrice at the front desk."

Dr. Andre watched as Zack carefully slid off of the bed, before she handed him the silver cane and watched him take a few steps with it. He wobbled a bit as he became used to the feel, but once he had it under his belt; he was able to move smoothly. He offered the doctor a small smile, before he confirmed that the front desk was down the hall to the left. Once the doctor finally moved out of his way, he hobbled down the hall and found himself in the waiting room. It smelled stale and the television was tuned to Dr. Phil. Wonderful.

As Zack made his way to the front desk, he heard the three little old ladies in the corner talk about him in hushed whispers. One mentioned how wonderful it would be if he could date her granddaughter, while another claimed that he was far too pretty to be straight. Zack's eye twitched. All of his life, he had been attracted to girls. However, for some reason, everyone always assumed that he swung that way. He tried his best to ignore them, but they were rather loud and they _stared_ at him from across the room.

"Don't mind them too much." The woman at the front desk said. "They live in their own little world. Dr. Andre said that you should come back in a week and a half, correct?"

"Yeah." Zack nodded.

Zack watched as the woman's immaculate French-manicured nails flew over the keyboard. She set him in the computer for an appointment in a week and a half, exactly like the doctor had said. Once he was officially in the computer, she took out an appointment card and filled it out with the time and date. When she was finished, she handed it to him with a smile. Zack thanked her, before he slid it into his wallet. He took one of the sour suckers from the candy dish and stuck it in his mouth, before he went toward John's car without another word.

**OOOO**

Later that night, the entire roster of both SmackDown and Raw found themselves in a nameless club. With the WrestleMania matches on the horizon, and the tension building between John Laureinitis and Teddy Long, the tension had started to increase between the wrestlers as well. The anxiety could literally be cut with a knife. Zack had agreed to come to the club (after much pestering on Cena's part, because that man couldn't stand to go anywhere on his own), but he could only drink soda because of the amount of pain killers he was on for his neck.

Zack watched with sorrowful eyes as Eve danced between two no-name wrestlers trying to make a name for themselves in the WWE. She had taken a particular interest in one of them. He was tall with a head of healthy gold hair and bright, naïve blue eyes. Zack found himself wondering what it was that that boy had that he didn't. Zack was taller and, from the looks of it, more muscular. Brie Bella touched a hand to his shoulder to try and comfort him, but it was a lost cause. You couldn't help someone that didn't want to be helped.

But then, his eyes flickered over to the lone figure at the bar. The incredibly tall man nursed a drink, which looked like it hadn't been touched in the two hours that they had been in the club. For some reason, Zack found himself drawn to him. He seemed incredibly lonesome, and he wanted to offer him some company. So he excused himself from the table where Brie and Nikki sat, before he hobbled over to the bar. Taking a seat at the bar, he ordered another Cola and turned to Kane. It couldn't be seen beneath the mask, but Zack knew that he had an eyebrow raised.

"You havin' a little bit of trouble drinking that, big man?" Zack asked. There was nothing condescending about his tone, but there may have been a little bit of a tease.

Kane blinked slowly, before he looked down at his drink as if he hadn't noticed it before. "I haven't touched a drink since Nell was born. I couldn't do that to her."

Zack bit down on his bottom lip. He couldn't help but feel as if he had hit a chord. "So… her name's Nell?"

"Cornelia, actually." Kane said.

"She's absolutely adorable." Zack said. He was sure that he sounded totally drunk.

This had to be the first time that anyone had had a _civil_ conversation with Kane before. Zack watched as Kane's icy blue eyes scanned the tall glass of alcohol, but he knew that he wouldn't touch it. He had seen the relief in Kane's eyes when he found Nell to be safe and sound, and he could safely assume that that was all that mattered to him. Zack shifted a little bit in the neck brace. It seemed that Kane was rather comfortable with him around, as so he felt comfortable asking the next question.

"Kane?" The monster tilted his head to the side. "Out of all of the superstars on the roster, why did you choose _me_ to throw off of the ramp -,"

Zack wasn't even able to finish, because Kane threw his drink on him. "I don't know who you're trying to kid, Ryder. You don't like me and I don't like you. So I suggest you quit while you're ahead… before I throw you off the ramp _again_." Kane rumbled, before he walked away.

**OOOO**

**A/N:** Please Review!


	4. C is for Comfort Me

**Title:** Flawed Perfection

**Rated:** M (Mature)

**Genre(s):** Romance/Angst

**Pair(s):** Kane/Zack, Kane/Lita

**Summary:** All his life, Kane has been told that he is a monster. He doesn't deserve to be loved. He doesn't deserve to live. His wife, the woman who claimed to love him for better or worse, tried to break him from the inside out. Now, all he has to live for are a child that's never seen his face and a brother who wants him to rot in hell. Kane's been taken to his limit. The heartless monster is in need of a savior like never before…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, besides the child.

**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Violence, Cruelty, etc.

**Part:** 4/? – C is for Comfort Me

**OOOO**

Kane arrived back at his hotel an hour later. He hadn't touched a drink, true to his rule. Jeff sat on the couch; Nell nestled in his arms, as the credits to one of her favorite movies rolled on the screen. The four-year-old suckled on her binky lazily, her little arms secure around a stuffed doll that she held close to her chest. She looked rather tired, but the minute that her chocolate eyes fell on Kane, she excitedly climbed off of Jeff and ran over to her father. Kane lifted the little one into his arms and smirked as she tried to talk around her binky.

Meanwhile, Jeff turned off the television and slid the DVD back into the case. Kane and Jeff weren't on the best of terms, but that was mainly because of that fact that _Mark_ and Kane weren't on the best of terms. Ever since Jeff had married the Deadman, it almost seemed as if he had been thrown in the middle. But he loved his niece and she was rather fond of him too (she liked to play with his hair). And Kane was sure that Jeff wouldn't let any harm come to her. That was all that really mattered.

"Thanks for this, Jeff. I know it was kind of short notice." Kane rumbled. It was unusual for him to thank _anyone_, but he wanted to teach Nell to be better than him.

Jeff's almost colorless emerald eyes flickered up. "Oh, that's fine. We had a lot of fun, didn't we Nell?" Here, the child nodded enthusiastically. "If you ever need a babysitter, feel free to call. I won't be back on the road for three months."

Jeff made his exit. Kane carried the baby back to the bedroom area and set her down on her soft, twin-sized bed in the corner. He took out her binky and set it on the bedside table, because it really wasn't healthy for her to sleep with it in. She blinked at him slowly, not at all upset about the loss of her binky. And then, like she had done a few nights back, she reached out and smoothed her hand over the rough contours of the leather mask. Kane's eyes slid closed. He would never let her see the butcher's handiwork underneath.

"Daddy…" Nell started softly. "I love you. I don't care what you look like. If your face is messy, so what? You'll still be my Daddy. I'll still love you anyway."

Kane forced his eyes open wide. "No. You won't because no-one does."

Nell blinked at him innocently. "I'm not like Mommy, Daddy. I love you. I want to see your face."

"No." Kane's face hardened into a frown. "It's time for bed, Nell. Say your prayers, close your eyes, and _sleep_. We have to catch a flight in the morning."

Nell sniffled pitifully, but she did as she was told. "Daddy doesn't love me anymore…"

Kane froze in his tracks. If possible, whatever was left of the black hole that he liked to claim was his heart, shattered. How could his precious baby think that he didn't love her anymore? All of what he did, _all_ of it, was for her! His entire life had revolved around her since the moment that she was born and her mother decided to skip town. He would lay down his life for hers in a heartbeat. If that wasn't love, then he didn't know what was. But how could he convey this to a four-year-old? He couldn't. So, he climbed into his bed and went to sleep…

**THE NEXT DAY**

"Nell, what are you doing?" Kane asked. They were on their flight to Florida, and Nell had slid out of her seat and started to walk across the aisle. "Cornelia Jacobs!"

Nell scowled at him around her binky. Finally, she removed it and said, "I want to sit with Zack."

"Nell, don't bother Zack. Just come back and sit down, okay?" Kane tried to console her.

Nell turned her irresistibly cute brown eyes on The Broski, Zack Ryder. Zack turned to Kane. "It's okay, bro. She doesn't bother me."

And just like that, Nell climbed into Zack's lap and rested her head on his chest. Her thick red curls splayed over Zack's white t-shirt, and her little legs barely reached down to his knees. She looked like an utterly adorable life-sized doll, and Zack was totally taken by her. He gave her a pen and she started to play connect-the-dots with the light freckles that dotted his hands. If her little game was any indication, she would be quite the artist when she was older. Zack smirked and ruffled her hair softly.

"Nell, don't _draw_ on him." Kane said, but the child ignored him. "Cornelia Jacobs, back here right _now_!"

Nell's dark brown eyes flickered up to her father. "You're a big meanie. I hate you!"

The entire roster fell deathly silent. It was like everyone was on thin ice, anxious to hear how Kane would react to the declaration. But Kane's face was hard as steel as he leveled Nell with a stare. The child wasn't even looking at him anymore, as she was too busy coloring in her drawing on the back of Zack's hand. Finally, Kane rose out of his seat and walked back toward the bathroom. Once inside, he locked the door so harshly that the slider almost broke and allowed one tear to fall…

**OOOO**

**A/N:** Please Review!


	5. D is for Development

**Title:** Flawed Perfection

**Rated:** M (Mature)

**Genre(s):** Romance/Angst

**Pair(s):** Kane/Zack, Kane/Lita

**Summary:** All his life, Kane has been told that he is a monster. He doesn't deserve to be loved. He doesn't deserve to live. His wife, the woman who claimed to love him for better or worse, tried to break him from the inside out. Now, all he has to live for are a child that's never seen his face and a brother who wants him to rot in hell. Kane's been taken to his limit. The heartless monster is in need of a savior like never before…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, besides the child.

**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Violence, Cruelty, etc.

**Part:** 5/? – D is for Development

**OOOO**

The WWE roster arrived at their hotel. Nell had insisted that Zack carry her there, not that The Broski minded. She wasn't too heavy and she fit so well into his arms. Kane hadn't said a word since Nell had said those dreaded three words, but it was obvious that they had taken their toll on him. The monster walked a bit slower than he normally would and his head was bowed low, his dark chocolate curls in front of his face. Zack followed Kane to his hotel room, but when they arrived, Nell refused to leave his arms. She buried her little face in his neck and hot tears started to roll down her cheeks, her sobs so forceful that her entire body shook with the force of them.

Zack turned to Kane, a look of understanding on his handsome face. "Why don't I take Nell to the local Toys 'R' Us so that she can calm down a little bit? I'm sure that she didn't mean what she said, Kane…"

But Kane had already relented. He had his wallet out and he had an expectant look on his face. "How much do you want? I know how she can be in the toy store."

Zack looked affronted. "Don't worry about it, Kane. Consider it my treat."

Kane tilted his head to the side slowly. He wasn't used to such blatant acts of kindness. "Thanks…"

"Say 'bye-bye' to Daddy, Nell." Zack turned a little bit so that the child could look him in the eye.

Nell scowled at him for a moment, before she said in a low voice, "Bye, Daddy."

Zack didn't bother with a rental car, instead deciding to carry her the two blocks down to the local toy store. Nell shifted a little bit in his arms, but otherwise she remained perfectly still. The Broski could feel her soft breath on his neck and he could hear her suckle on her binky, and these sounds and sensations intermixed with everyday life in the center of the ever-busy Florida streets. Once they arrived at the store, a kind woman who looked to have a busload of children with her held the door for Zack. Nell smiled at her around the binky, and the woman smiled and waved in return. When they were inside, Zack set her on the floor and followed her as she ran toward the Barbie dolls.

Within seconds of his arrival in the aisle, Zack's arms were stuffed beyond capacity with everything from Barbie dolls to accessories. Kane wasn't joking when he said that Nell could go a little crazy at the toy store. But then, her chocolate eyes fell on a bright blue Jeep. It had a Barbie nameplate on it and everything. She lifted it off of the shelf with all of her might and jumped up, trying to put it on the very top of the stack of toys in Zack's arms. But even as Zack knelt on the floor beside her, she still couldn't reach. Finally, defeated, the child resolved to carry it herself as they went toward checkout. One-hundred and fifty dollars later, they were back on the streets.

"So, Nell." Zack looked at the little child, who rode in the cart that they had had to rent from the local UPS store. "Why are you so mad at your Daddy? What did he do to make you hate him?"

Nell looked down at her little hands sadly. "Daddy doesn't love me anymore."

Zack froze in his tracks, a little startled by her declaration. "What do you mean he doesn't love you anymore?"

Nell sucked in a trembling breath. "I told him that I want to see his face and he won't let me. I don't care if his face is messy or not. I just want to see him. Is that bad, Zack?"

"No, sweetheart." Zack shook his head furiously. "That's not bad at all. But you have to understand that Kane is hurt underneath the mask. It's like… a band-aid on a booboo. He hasn't healed underneath yet."

"He said that Mommy left him after she saw what was underneath the mask." Nell said.

"He's afraid that what you see underneath will scare you." Zack said.

"I'm my Daddy's Girl." Nell said confidently. "I'm not scared of any – spider, spider! Zacky, kill the spider!"

Zack stomped on the spider with the heel of his boot, "Is that better?" Nell nodded. "I thought you weren't afraid of anything?"

"Spiders are different."

A few minutes later, Zack dropped Nell off with Kane, as well as all of her toys. Kane spent a good hour and a half constructing a Barbie Dream House for the four-year-old, knowing full well that he would have to take it down when they left Florida after Wrestlemania. Nell watched him with her wide, innocent brown eyes. She suckled on her binky and kicked her little legs. Finally, after several instances where he hit himself with the hammer and came close to Tombstoning the entire project straight to hell, it was finished. The house stood on its own two feet, or four, rather, and looked beautiful. Nell smiled at him, before he walked over to him and reached for his hand.

"I'm sorry if I made Daddy sad about what I said." Nell said softly. "I don't hate Daddy. Daddy is the best Daddy in the whole wide world and he my hero. I love my Daddy."

Kane felt tears of an entirely different sort brewing in his eyes, but he didn't let them fall. He was still a monster, after all. Whatever Zack had done at the store, Kane was thankful. "I love you too, baby."

**OOOO**

**A/N:** I need an idea to bring them together… ugh… anyway, Please Review!


	6. E is for Electric

**Title:** Flawed Perfection

**Rated:** M (Mature)

**Genre(s):** Romance/Angst

**Pair(s):** Kane/Zack, Kane/Lita

**Summary:** All his life, Kane has been told that he is a monster. He doesn't deserve to be loved. He doesn't deserve to live. His wife, the woman who claimed to love him for better or worse, tried to break him from the inside out. Now, all he has to live for are a child that's never seen his face and a brother who wants him to rot in hell. Kane's been taken to his limit. The heartless monster is in need of a savior like never before…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, besides the child.

**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Violence, Cruelty, etc.

**Part:** 6/? – E is for Electric

**OOOO**

**(****Three Hours Earlier****)**

The tension in the air was so thick that it could be cut with a knife. The week had flown by in an instant, and now, it was time for the Show of Shows. To claim that Kane was nervous would be incorrect. He wasn't _nervous_. Well, not for himself. He had never taken Nell to a PPV before and he wasn't sure if she could handle the three hours of excitement. She had already become lost in the arena once. And he knew that, with the constant worry about who would become GM of both Raw and SmackDown, everyone's adrenaline was fueled and _everyone_ was ready for action. If Nell accidentally crossed Mark Henry… well, Kane didn't want to think about that.

Kane watched as Nell ate her dinner. The little child couldn't eat much and when she _did_ eat, she was extremely selective about her food. At the moment, her fascination was in chicken. Three chicken tenders and a handful of fries could satisfy her for hours. If Kane didn't watch her constantly, she would make a mess out of the table and herself. Never before had he _ever_ seen someone have so much fun with their food. But Nell was different, that much was for sure. He had finished his own dinner fifteen minutes earlier, and she was only on her second chicken tender. He knew that he would need someone to watch her, someone he could trust. But who could he call?

"Daddy?" Nell set her food down and looked at him with sad brown eyes. "I don't wanna eat anymore. I'm full."

Kane looked down at her food uncertainly. She had barely eaten any of it, but she had moved it around a lot to make it look like she had. "Nell, you barely touched your food…"

"I don't wanna eat anymore!" Nell screamed, before her eyes went wide and she fell silent.

Kane looked at her uncertainly, before he nodded. "Okay, Nell. You don't have to eat anymore if you don't want to."

"Thank you, Daddy." Nell said sweetly. She had calmed considerably. "Will you play Barbie dolls with me later?"

"I can't, Nell." Kane shook his head. "I have the PPV, remember? I have to work. But I'm sure that Natalya or the Bella twins would love to play Barbie with you."

Nell looked down at the floor sadly. "Oh."

Kane was at a loss. What was the matter with his baby? "Nell, what's the matter? You seem sad."

Nell was silent for a moment, before she said, "Can I stay with Zack? He's really nice and I like him a lot. I'm sure that he'll play Barbie dolls with me."

"Nell, sweetheart, Zack has a match -,"

"Just until your match is over." Nell defended her decision. "And then we can come home."

Kane nodded slowly. It seemed as if his baby had become quite attached to The Broski. "Fine, I'll call Zack. But I can't promise that he'll say yes."

"Okay." Nell nodded furiously, before she stalked off to find her stuffed unicorn.

For a moment, Kane didn't move. He didn't want to admit that, over the few short weeks that Nell had known Zack, Kane had become rather dependent on Zack. Kane considered himself a decent father, but there were some times when it was all too much and he needed a short break. And Zack was always there for him (whether Kane wanted him there or not). So, without further delay, he took out his work phone and scrolled down to the rarely-used number for Zack Ryder's cell. He hesitated for only a moment, but then he remembered how much Nell had wanted to be with Zack, and all of the hesitation melted away.

"_Hello?"_ The Broski answered after a moment. His voice sounded strained and he sounded tired.

"Zack? This is Kane. Listen, I need a favor…"

**(****Present****)**

Kane stood in the doorway to Zack's locker room, mesmerized by the scene in front of him. Zack reclined on the couch, Nell curled in his arms, fast asleep. Her binky sat on the table, forgotten. Zack's chestnut eyes flickered up to meet Kane's icy blue eyes, and no words needed to be said. Very, very carefully, Zack climbed off of the couch and slid the child around so that he was holding her upright. Still, her little head rested on his chest and her hands bunched the material of his 'Broski' t-shirt. He walked over to the door, slowly swaying back and forth to hush the child who had started to stir. He already loved this child so much.

"How was she?" Kane mumbled. He didn't want to disturb the peaceful child.

"She was a perfect… little… angel." Zack whispered, looking down at Nell with a small smile on his face. He then looked up at Kane, the smile still on his face. "Thank you for letting me watch her."

Kane's icy blue eyes flickered over to his baby. "Thank you for watching her."

"It was an honor. She's really a little sweetheart." Zack smoothed her red curls back from her face, before he carefully transitioned her into Kane's arms.

Kane was silent for a minute, before he said, "Maybe you could come by our hotel room some time? Nell would love to have another torture victim… I mean, playmate for her Barbie Dream House."

Zack smirked. He could see how difficult this was for Kane and he had to admit that it was kind of cute. "I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."

And then, Zack leaned forward and kissed Kane's cheek. Rather, he kissed where his cheek would be beneath the red leather mask, but it had much the same effect. A bolt of electricity rushed through him and his eyes fluttered closed. When he opened them again, Zack had vanished.

**OOOO**

**A/N:** Please Review!


	7. F is for First

**Title:** Flawed Perfection

**Rated:** M (Mature)

**Genre(s):** Romance/Angst

**Pair(s):** Kane/Zack, Kane/Lita

**Summary:** All his life, Kane has been told that he is a monster. He doesn't deserve to be loved. He doesn't deserve to live. His wife, the woman who claimed to love him for better or worse, tried to break him from the inside out. Now, all he has to live for are a child that's never seen his face and a brother who wants him to rot in hell. Kane's been taken to his limit. The heartless monster is in need of a savior like never before…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, besides the child.

**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Violence, Cruelty, etc.

**Part:** 7/? – F is for First

**OOOO**

The day after Wrestlemania, Zack Ryder found himself in Kane and Nell's hotel room. Nell rushed him at the door, but before she could throw her little arms around him, she slid to a halt and started to cough violently. The noise that she made seemed much too loud for such a small body. Finally, when she could control herself, her brilliant smile returned and she threw herself at Zack. Zack caught her with ease and lifted her into the air, laughing as she laughed and waved her little arms to and fro. Finally, Zack set her down and she led him over to the dream house.

Kane was already over there. He had a mountain of naked Barbie dolls, both male and female, in front of him. There was a pile of clothes next to it. Zack raised an eyebrow, but Kane didn't comment. The Broski chalked it up to the child's odd behavior and let it roll off of his shoulders. Quickly, Nell motioned for Zack to take a seat next to her father. She dressed two dolls, a Barbie and a Ken, in a beautiful white wedding dress and a tight-fitting tuxedo. Coughing a little bit, she handed the female doll to Kane and the male doll to Zack.

"Um, Nell?" Kane looked down at the female doll as if it had a second head. "Why do I have the female doll?"

"Cause you have more hair, silly." Nell said, as if this was the most obvious statement in the world.

Kane rolled his icy blue eyes, but relented. It was useless to put up a fight, at least where something as insignificant as Barbie dolls were concerned. "Fine."

"What exactly are we doing, sweetheart?" Zack asked as Nell lay down on her stomach and held her favorite doll out in front of the Barbie and Ken.

"You're getting married, of course." Nell said, before she coughed again.

Before he adults could say anything else, Nell started the ceremony. Since she was only four-years-old and didn't know much about weddings, she skipped a lot of the ceremony. Kane and Zack's dolls exchanged imaginary rings as they said their vows. Zack could see that Kane was still confused as to why he was the female doll, but he went through the motions because it made Nell happy. Finally, it came to the last part of the ceremony. It was time for the husband to kiss his bride.

Not thinking too much of it, the two men made the dolls kiss. But this didn't satisfy Nell. She climbed to her feet and took Kane's hand, making him stand. And then she turned around and did the same for Zack. Linking their hands together, she smiled up at him expectantly. Kane blinked at her uncertainly. She couldn't _seriously_ want them to kiss, could she? When they didn't move fast enough, she frowned and moved behind Kane, pushing him closer to Zack. Her little body really wouldn't move Kane all that much, but he moved anyway because he didn't want to hurt her.

Actually, Zack was the one who made the first move. He closed the distance between them and kissed Kane. Kane's icy blue eyes widened and he tensed, surprised. Nell squealed happily, satisfied that she had done her job well. After a moment, Kane relaxed and started to kiss back. His eyes slid closed and for the first time in so, so long, he allowed the icy barrier around his heart to melt. He hadn't allowed anyone this close since Lita had broken him, and he had to admit that it felt nice. It felt nice to know that someone wasn't afraid of him, that they weren't disgusted by him.

"Can we play _Chutes and Ladders_ now?" Nell asked excitedly. Before they even had a chance to answer her, she took the board game out and started to set it up.

"What about the Barbie dolls, Nell?" Kane asked. "When are you going to clean those up?"

"Later." Nell answered simply.

The child then took out her favorite piece and set it where she wanted it on the board. But before they could start to play, she took out her binky and walked over to Zack. She took Zack's hand and handed it to him. Zack looked at her oddly, but she assured him that it was a present and she wanted him to keep it. She didn't need it anymore. Leading both her father and Zack over to the board game, they all stretched out on the floor and started to play. Zack was quick to learn that Kane and Nell were extremely competitive.

The rest of the afternoon leading up to the show was spent playing different games. Even if she was only four-years-old, she could start to see the connection that was forming between Zack and Kane. Occasionally, she would start to cough viciously. She was weaker than usual and didn't have the boundless energy that she usually had either. But seeing her Daddy happy for the first time in all of her life made her happy as well. Maybe Zack was the missing puzzle piece that could get Kane to take off his mask…

**OOOO**

**A/N:** Well, another chapter down. Please remember to review – they make me write faster!


	8. G is for Guile

**Title:** Flawed Perfection

**Rated:** M (Mature)

**Genre(s):** Romance/Angst

**Pair(s):** Kane/Zack, Kane/Lita

**Summary:** All his life, Kane has been told that he is a monster. He doesn't deserve to be loved. He doesn't deserve to live. His wife, the woman who claimed to love him for better or worse, tried to break him from the inside out. Now, all he has to live for are a child that's never seen his face and a brother who wants him to rot in hell. Kane's been taken to his limit. The heartless monster is in need of a savior like never before…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, besides the child.

**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Violence, Cruelty, etc.

**Part:** 8/? – G is for Guile

**OOOO**

Zack was more than a little bit worried when he found out that Kane never arrived at the arena for Raw. The rumor that had started to circulate around the back was that Nell was sick and he had been forced to take her to the ER, and Zack could clearly remember that horrendous cough that she had had when he had visited their hotel room earlier. As soon as he saw Kane next, he would ask about her, he decided. As of now, he had other worries. Namely, a man who constantly sounded like he had lost his voice and was now the new GM.

John Laureinitis came up with the brilliant idea to set up a match between Zack and The Miz, which lasted about five minutes. The Miz dominated most of the match (mainly because Zack still wasn't one-hundred percent from the attack by Kane, but he was over that now) and had pinned Zack for the three count to land a 'momentous' victory. Zack shook his head. It couldn't be a 'momentous' victory because it wasn't the main event match that Mike wanted. Zack was just thankful that he hadn't been the unfortunate victim of an F-5 like Cena.

"Zack!" Zack froze. His heart beat madly in his chest at the very sound of her voice. "Wait a minute, Zack! We need to talk about this. About _us_."

Zack shook his head, a smirk on his face. "What about _us_? You made it rather clear that there was no _us_, nor could there ever be. You humiliated me in front of thousands of fans. And _now_ you want to talk?"

"Listen, Zack. It really wasn't like that. I _do_ care about you! Honestly." Eve said, conviction behind her words.

"Really?" Zack scratched the back of his head. "Oh, now I see it. You care about me enough to say how a 'real man' can't be manipulated, and that's exactly what you did to 'The _Moron_' Zack Ryder."

Eve shook her head frantically. She even managed to work a few tears into her eyes. "You know that that's all scripted, Zack. We're friends, aren't we? You can _trust_ me."

"Correction: I _thought_ that I could trust you. The broski before the hoeski." Zack said.

Zack started to walk away, but Eve wouldn't have any of that. She huffed loudly and, taking the taller brunette by the hand, spun him around and kissed him hard. The Broski's heart fluttered like mad. This was everything that he had ever dreamed of. The beautiful woman was throwing herself at him. But once the initial excitement of it faded, he realized that he actually… didn't care. Slowly, he drew back. Eve looked at him, shocked. The man that she had had wrapped around her finger actually had a set after all.

"I can't do this, Eve. I refuse to allow you to hurt me with your lies." Zack said, brutal honesty in his tone. "There's someone else. Someone who I could actually see myself with, if he'll let me."

Eve blinked dumbly. "If _he'll_ let you? A man! You're turning me down for a _man_!"

"Yeah." Zack laughed at the idea of it. "I guess I am."

He didn't anticipate the slender brunette smacking him hard across the face. "How dare you! How dare you think that you're good enough to turn me down! If anything, _I'm_ too good for _you_!"

Zack looked at her innocently. "Newsflash, sweetie. Just because you think it, doesn't mean it's true."

It took a moment for his words to sink in, but when they did, Eve's temper _boiled_. "Oh…you little shit. You'll pay for that comment. Don't think that this is the last time we'll meet. I'll have you _begging_ for me."

Zack rolled his eyes. "Come find me when hell freezes over, because that's the only time I'll come begging to you for _anything_. I don't need _this_ and I don't need _you_."

This time, when Zack walked away, Eve let him. As he walked back to his locker room, he overheard a few other stars talk about John Cena's condition. He only heard bits of the conversation, but from what he heard, John was more frustrated and irritated with John Laureinitis and Brock Lesnar then he was actually hurt. And while Zack was still a little hurt about the fact that John had kissed Eve when he knew that Zack liked her, he was still thankful to hear that the older man was well off.

Zack went back to his locker room, showered, and dressed. He didn't have too much time before his new favorite television show, _Criminal Minds_, came on. It was a new episode (or, at least, it was an episode that Zack hadn't seen before) and Zack didn't want to miss it. As he climbed into his car and checked the time, he realized that it was still kind of early… for Kane, anyway. He had seen that man stay awake until well after 4:00 AM. Maybe he would call the Big Red Monster for an update on Nell's condition.

**OOOO**

"I won't lie, Lita. This will be an uphill battle." Lita's lawyer, Ofelia Davis, said to her honestly. "I know that you don't want _custody_ of the child, but you do want to be part of her life and be considered her mother."

"I don't want to be _considered_ her mother, Ofelia. I _am_ her mother." Lita bit back defensively.

Ofelia nodded slowly. "The fact still remains that for, how many years now, you've abandoned the child and left her in the care of a man who could easily be deemed mentally unstable."

"So, he has Daddy issues. So what?" Lita commented. "I'm sure we all have a few demons in the closet. That doesn't make us monsters, does it? No? I didn't think so."

"Does this child even know that you exist, Lita?" Ofelia asked.

"Of course she knows that I exist! I'm her mother." Lita hissed viciously.

"You're the mother who has been absent for how many years. How do you know that you're _still_ the mother figure? Your ex-husband could have remarried." Ofelia offered.

Lita scoffed at that. "Kane? Remarry? I don't think so. _I_ could barely stand the man."

"Which is the reason you left him with the baby days after they cut the umbilical cord." Ofelia finished.

"I have my reasons." Lita said, before she lit a smoke. "Don't judge me."

"I'm not here to judge you, Lita. I'm here to tell you the facts." Ofelia said. "In the old days, the court tended to lean toward the mother's in cases like these. But you… you practically abandoned your baby days after it was born."

"What are you saying?" Lita narrowed her eyes at the smaller woman. "I'm a bad mother because I did what I believed was right for my child at the time?"

"Why was it the right decision for your daughter at the time? Explain that to me." Ofelia said.

Lita shook her head and looked down at the floor. "Because… there's a chance that she's _not_ Kane's daughter."

**OOOO**

**A/N:** Please Review!


	9. H is for 'Hello'

**Title:** Flawed Perfection

**Rated:** M (Mature)

**Genre(s):** Romance/Angst

**Pair(s):** Kane/Zack, Kane/Lita

**Summary:** All his life, Kane has been told that he is a monster. He doesn't deserve to be loved. He doesn't deserve to live. His wife, the woman who claimed to love him for better or worse, tried to break him from the inside out. Now, all he has to live for are a child that's never seen his face and a brother who wants him to rot in hell. Kane's been taken to his limit. The heartless monster is in need of a savior like never before…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, besides the child.

**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Violence, Cruelty, etc.

**Part:** 9/? – H is for 'Hello'

**OOOO**

"What do you mean that 'there is a chance that the child isn't Kane's?" Ofelia asked. "Did you cheat on Kane while the two of you were married?"

Lita rolled her eyes. "Of _course_ I had an affair. Have you _seen_ Kane? He certainly lives up to his title of 'The Devil's Favorite Demon'. He's hideous and uncivilized."

"Who was the other man?" Ofelia asked. All of this could be relevant to Lita's case.

"Matt Hardy. We're married now… we have been for two years now. At least he doesn't have to hide behind a mask because of his 'Daddy Issues'." Lita tossed back at the lawyer.

"What makes you think that he could be the father?" Ofelia asked.

"Because I only had sex with Kane a handful of times. In fact, I can count them on one hand." Lita said matter-of-factly. "That man is a fucking _brute_ in bed."

"So, you want to take this child away from the only father that she has ever known, tell her that her entire life has been a lie, and that she's really someone else's baby?" Ofelia asked smartly.

Lita frowned. "Like I said before, I don't want to take her _away_ from him. I only want to be in her life. I want her to call me 'mom', because that's what I am."

"Are you ready to take the chance that this could totally backfire? Are you ready to accept responsibility for ruining her life, and putting her between you and Kane?"

"It won't backfire." Lita said. The red-head sounded so sure of herself that Ofelia was forced to agree with her. She could only hope that the child wasn't the victim in the end.

**OOOO**

Kane sat in the Pediatric Center in the hospital at Nell's bedside. The tiny red-haired child had finally fallen into a serene slumber after the doctors had administered a sedative to calm her while they took some tests. So far, none of them had been decisive. Carefully, Kane leaned forward and brushed her slick red curls away from her face. She looked so tiny and frail on the stark white sheets, and it broke Kane's blackened, hardened heart to see her like this. He loved her so much and he hated it when she was sick.

He had just received word from the GM that he was in a WrestleMania rematch with Randy Orton, and that Randy was booked to win. He couldn't even concentrate on that, however. The worry that he had for his baby outweighed the worry he had for his match. Continuing to stroke her delicate curls softly, he watched her steady heartbeat on the monitor. It seemed as if that would be the only comfort that he would receive until the test results came back from the lab, and that could be several hours…

That's when his phone started to vibrate. Without checking the Caller ID, he answered. "Hello?"

"_Kane? It's Zack. I heard about what happened with Nell and I was calling to make sure that she's okay." _Zack said honestly. He sounded tired, but determined.

"You're… worried about her?" Kane asked, uncertain. For so many years, the two had lived in their own little world. The outside world had never cared about them… until now.

"_Yeah. Of course I'm worried about her."_ And then, he fell silent. _"She's a great kid. Like I said, I just wanted to make sure that she's okay."_

Kane contemplated this for a moment, before he said, "They're running tests now."

"_Did they say what they're testing for?"_ Zack asked.

"The doctor said that there's a chance that she could have a lung infection. However, they won't know for sure until the results come back." Kane confessed.

Once more, Zack was silent. Finally, he asked, _"Would you mind if I came over? I mean… I'm sure that you could use some company. I won't if you don't want me to, but -,"_

"Actually, that would be… nice." Kane cut him off.

Zack sounded a bit startled when he said, _"Okay. I'll be there in fifteen minutes."_

Kane ended the call and set his cell on the bedside table. True to his word, Zack arrived fifteen minutes later. A pediatric nurse led him over to Nell's room, and the vibrant man thanked her with a smile that made her melt. Without another word, Zack came over and sat down in the other chair next to Kane. An awkward silence hovered between them. Zack shot a hesitant look over at The Big Red Monster, who still wore his mask even in this circumstance. Zack couldn't resist. He had to ask.

"Kane?" The Broski asked softly.

"What is it, Zack?" Kane asked.

"Why do you wear that mask?" Zack asked, his voice still soft. He was a little afraid that Kane would lash out at him, but when he didn't, The Broski visibly relaxed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to -,"

Kane cut him off. "When I was a little boy, Mark and I accidentally burned our house down. My face was burned in the fire. I hate the way that I look underneath the mask. Everyone does."

"I don't think _everyone_ does." Zack said calmly. "I think that you'd be handsome without the mask."

"Well, you're the first." Kane said.

Zack had seen a few pictures of Kane from the days when he was forced to wrestle without the mask, but he had never seen him face-to-face. He had come closer to Kane than anyone had ever come before, and he liked to believe that Kane had started to open up to him. Slowly, he reached out and took hold of Kane's hand. The monster looked at him innocently for a moment, unsure of what to make of this new sentimentality. When he turned away and didn't bite Zack's head off, Zack considered that a major accomplishment.

**OOOO**

Eve walked down the hall to the office that had been chosen by the new GM. She knocked on the door loudly, which was followed by a loud 'come in'. She walked inside and stood in front of the older man's desk. The low-cut v-neck that she had on showed off her assets a little _too_ well, and that immediately caught John Laureinitis' attention. He set his paperwork aside and looked the woman in the eye. She smiled at him and it made the older man more than a little uneasy. He didn't like Eve.

"We need to talk about Ryder."

**OOOO**

**A/N: Please Review!**


	10. I is for Incapable

**Title:** Flawed Perfection

**Rated:** M (Mature)

**Genre(s):** Romance/Angst

**Pair(s):** Kane/Zack, Kane/Lita

**Summary:** All his life, Kane has been told that he is a monster. He doesn't deserve to be loved. He doesn't deserve to live. His wife, the woman who claimed to love him for better or worse, tried to break him from the inside out. Now, all he has to live for are a child that's never seen his face and a brother who wants him to rot in hell. Kane's been taken to his limit. The heartless monster is in need of a savior like never before…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, besides the child.

**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Violence, Cruelty, etc.

**Part:** 10/? – I is for Incapable

**OOOO**

"I don't want to bother you." Kane started after several moments of silence. "But… would you stay here with Nell? I have a match on SmackDown and I don't want her to be alone."

Zack nodded. "I don't mind at all, bro. Nell's a cute kid." He was silent for a moment, before he turned to Kane. "Can I ask a personal question, Kane?"

Kane blinked dumbly. Zack looked like his confidence was about to crumble, before Kane turned to the copper-haired man and nodded. "Sure."

"Who is Nell's mother?" Zack asked innocently.

Kane scoffed, before he reached out to the child and brushed a red curl from her face. "Lita."

Zack's eyes widened considerably. He had heard that they had had a short relationship, but that was as much as he knew. "Oh." He tilted his head to the side. "I can kinda see that."

Kane chuckled dryly. "You can admit it. They look almost identical."

"No." Zack shook his head. "I actually think she looks more like you. And she acts like you too. You're both incredibly stubborn and headstrong, but I can see that there's a heart somewhere deep down."

For the first time in all of the years that Zack had worked with Kane, Kane actually _smiled_. "Thanks."

"Not a problem, bro." Zack looked at the clock. "But you might want to leave now if you don't want to be late for the show. And… be careful. I don't want you to be hurt because you haven't slept."

Kane rose and stretched. He walked over to the door, before he turned back and looked at Zack one last time. "I'll be careful." Monsters didn't have to be careful, but he owed at least that to Zack.

A few minutes after Kane walked out of the room, Zack switched seats and stretched out to make himself more comfortable. Nell was still out and most likely would be for some time, so he took out his I-Phone and decided to check his Twitter account. There were a few new posts, many of which were about his match with The Miz. He responded to a few of them, before he became bored and switched over to his Doodle Pad App. Now, Zack was no artist. But he _did_ make a mean human-animal hybrid (which, truth be told, should have been a human).

A warm sense of satisfaction came over him when he realized how much it must've taken for Kane to trust him like this. Kane was not a trusting man by nature, and Zack knew that, given Kane's unusual family history, he would more than likely believe that more people were out to hurt him then to help him. All Zack wanted was to love him. And if it took him the rest of his life to convince Kane of that fact, then he would do so. Zack was ready to make that commitment for Kane, and for Kane's precious, innocent baby.

**OOOO**

Kane had a brutal WrestleMania Rematch with Randy Orton, which ended with an RKO onto a steel chair for the three count. When Kane was finally able to roll out of the ring, The Big Red Monster could barely move. His entire body ached and throbbed, and if he could've, he probably would've taken a move from his older brother's book and climbed into a coffin to end his misery. He loved to wrestle, he loved playing the monster, but sometimes… it really sucked to be the loser. At least, when you won, the satisfaction overcame the pain.

Slowly, but surely, Kane made his way back to his locker room and crashed on the black leather couch. It was more than a little unusual to not have a little child running up to him, worrying over him if he had any new bruises or cuts, or cheering excitedly if he had taken down yet another opponent. He reminded himself that Nell would be better soon and that, after she was healthy, she could start to travel with him again. He closed his eyes and tried to make himself comfortable, and only barely succeeded before his accursed phone started to vibrate.

With a suffering sigh, Kane rolled over and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"_Kane!"_ An extremely feminine voice flowed over the line. _"I feel like I haven't talked to you in forever!"_

Kane squeezed his eyes shut as a headache threatened to form between his eyes. "Yeah. Not since the divorce. Listen, Lita – I'm _really_ busy at the moment. What do you want?"

"_You don't have five minutes to talk to an old flame?"_ Lita tried to sound like she was hurt, but only managed to sound amused. _"Really, Kane. I'm hurt. I just wanted to talk to you…"_

"Fine. Five minutes. What do you want to talk about?" Kane snapped.

Lita sucked in a breath, before she answered, _"I'm going to be in the area in a few days and I was wondering if I could come over and see Nell. I just want to see her, that's all."_

Kane shook his head, even though he knew that she couldn't see it. "No. You've never been interested in our daughter before, so why should you start now? I want you as far away from Nell as possible."

"_Oh, that's so sweet. Trying to act like you actually care_." Lita said sarcastically. _"You know that she's not your baby, Kane. You know it all too well."_

Kane blinked slowly. "What?"

Lita ignored his question. Instead, she issued her demand. "_Let me see my daughter, Kane."_

"No." Kane continued to remain firm in his decision.

"_You're a monster, Kane. You don't deserve to be loved."_ Lita laughed selfishly in his ear. _"And I can't wait for the day to come when Nell realizes just how much of a monster you really are. She'll run away from you so fast -,"_

"You know what? This conversation is over." Kane said, before he ended the call mid-sentence.

Was what Lita had said true? All of his life, Paul Bearer had insisted that a monster was incapable of love. He didn't want it and he certainly didn't _need _it. Those that he loved left him. His mother and father had died. His brother wouldn't even talk to him. His beloved wife had left him months after the ceremony. Who was to say that Nell wouldn't walk out on him at the first chance that she could? And what about Zack? As much as the monster within him tried to deny it, Kane _felt_ something for Zack. But once The Broski saw the real him, he wouldn't want him anymore.

Kane threw his phone onto the ground so hard that the back came off and the battery slid across the floor to some crevice where he couldn't see it. He twisted himself around so that he sat upright and buried his face in his hands. It was all the fault of this stupid mask. If only _he_ could bear to look at himself in the mirror… then maybe he could let someone else see as well. Timid hands felt around for the straps around the back of his head. Did he dare? Cold blue eyes flickered over to the mirror on the far wall. He didn't have much of a choice.

With trembling fingers, the monster came undone. He let the mask fall off of his head and onto the floor, forgotten. Almost as if he were under some sort of spell, he walked over to the mirror. But when it came time to face his own reflection, he found his eyes squeezed closed. This wasn't a monster. This was a man – a weak, weak man, who couldn't even stand to look at himself in the mirror. With a sigh, he clenched his hands tightly and slowly allowed his eyes to flutter open. What he saw caused his blood to run cold.

All of a sudden, the door to his locker room burst open and a very flustered, obviously very frustrated Eve stormed inside. "Kane! I've been knocking for the last ten minutes! What the -,"

The monster turned to her. His movements were calm, very slow and drawn out. And, all the while, crystalline tears streaked down his unmarred face…

**OOOO**

Lita smirked slyly as she continued to stare at her phone. She had been stuck in that position ever since her ex-husband had hung up on her five minutes before. Matt was starting to become a little bit worried about her. He was seriously concerned that this whole mess with Nell was getting out of hand. Matt could say with some certainty that there was no question as to who Nell's father was. And as for why Lita wanted to see her daughter after all this time… maybe it was because she was finally ready to admit that she had wronged both Nell and Kane.

Matt watched as his wife came over and sat down next to him. She was three months pregnant with their first child, and both sincerely wanted a little boy. They intended to name it after Matt, but, on the off-chance that it was a girl, they wanted to name her Chastity. She showed him who she had just been on the phone with, even though Matt was well-aware. He didn't like the smirk that she wore on her face. It made him more than a little uncomfortable and, for the first time, a little bit afraid. He didn't want Kane to lose his baby because of a stupid, hormone-induced decision.

Lita smiled at him. "Soon."

Matt didn't return the sentiment. "Soon, what?"

"All of our problems will… disappear." Lita smirked as she rose off of the couch and started to walk back and forth, almost manically. "You don't know how long that I've wanted this."

"Wanted what?" Matt asked one more time. "How long you've wanted Nell back? Lita, that was your own fault for leaving her behind. If you hadn't abandoned her, then she would still be -,"

"No, not that." Lita rolled her eyes and dismissed his comment. "Finally. I've done the unthinkable."

"_What_?" Kane asked, exasperated.

Lita smirked at him, her eyes flashing dangerously. "I've broken the monster."

**OOOO**

**A/N:** Please Review!


	11. J is for Just Fine

**Title:** Flawed Perfection

**Rated:** M (Mature)

**Genre(s):** Romance/Angst

**Pair(s):** Kane/Zack, Kane/Lita

**Summary:** All his life, Kane has been told that he is a monster. He doesn't deserve to be loved. He doesn't deserve to live. His wife, the woman who claimed to love him for better or worse, tried to break him from the inside out. Now, all he has to live for are a child that's never seen his face and a brother who wants him to rot in hell. Kane's been taken to his limit. The heartless monster is in need of a savior like never before…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, besides the child.

**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Violence, Cruelty, etc.

**Part:** 11/? – J is for Just Fine

**OOOO**

"What the hell is this?" Kane hissed. Eve flinched at his vicious tone, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the tears that continued to streak down the monster's face.

"Well, look at that. It would seem as if the monster has a heart after all." She chuckled ruthlessly. "It makes me sick. You're not a monster, you're a _man_. A man that can't handle defeat."

Now, no matter how much of a monster that he was, Kane wasn't one to harm a woman. He narrowed his icy blue eyes at her and slid his mask back on. "What do you want, Eve?"

Eve rolled her eyes, that wicked smile still intact. "Not much, Kane. Not much." She walked circles around him, the not-so-subtle sway of her hips failing to attract Kane's eye. "I just want Zack Ryder to be _mine_."

Kane's eyes widened, but it was difficult to see this behind the mask. "Oh? I thought he was already yours."

"No." Here, Eve seemed to become frustrated. "He has his eyes set on someone else. A _man_, no less. Can you believe that?" Eve huffed dramatically. "I need to win him back."

"So you can further humiliate and insult him?" Kane asked sarcastically.

"No, so I can love him!" Eve insisted.

"It was a rhetorical question." Kane deadpanned.

Eve's words _had_ struck a chord, however. Who was this man that Zack had eyes for? It couldn't be him. No, it couldn't be. He had hurt Zack so many times and had even almost ended the man's career when he tossed the wheelchair-bound star off the side of the ramp. Zack couldn't love him. And, besides, he was a monster. A monster that was incapable of love and didn't deserve love in return. Eve continued to race around like a chicken without a head, obviously frustrated but unable to accept defeat.

Kane was still awe-struck about the idea that Zack could actually _like_ him. He did like Zack, he knew that. Part of the reason that he had thrown Zack off of the ramp was a cry for attention. He didn't like how close Zack was to John and he wanted all of Zack's attention on _him._ He knew that it was a little selfish, but he had always been a little selfish and what he wanted, he was usually able to obtain. But, for some odd reason, he didn't want to force Zack to like him. At least, not anymore. If Zack liked him, then he wanted him to realize it himself.

"What can we do?" Eve asked suddenly. "What can we do to rectify this situation? Zack is mine! No man should be able to come between us!" Eve exclaimed nastily.

Kane rolled his eyes. "If that's the case, then I'm not sure how much assistance I can offer."

"What? Why not?" It was obvious that Eve was livid, but now she was startled as well.

"I just… won't." Kane tilted his head to the side, a small twinkle of amusement in his icy blue eyes. "And now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go to the hospital and see my daughter."

Kane picked up the pieces of his cell phone and tucked them into his jeans pocket, before he walked out of the room. He hadn't received any news from Zack, so he figured that he would remain optimistic and still keep the faith that she was okay. Once he was outside of the arena, the façade of amusement fell. The tears returned, this time hidden behind his mask. He had never been more thankful for that dumb mask then he was at that moment. It was his shield, his last line of defense… it was his safety net.

When he climbed into his car, surrounded by the darkness, he took his mask off one more time. Slowly, he felt the smooth contours of his face. Was it possible that Paul Bearer had lied to him for his entire life? Maybe he wasn't a monster after all… but his heart was still scarred, and he was still hesitant to love. It had cost him Lita in the past. And now, it could cost him Nell as well. He scrubbed at his eyes because _monsters don't cry_. He needed to be at his best for his baby. So, he pushed all thoughts of Lita and Eve aside and drove off toward the hospital.

**ONE HOUR LATER**

Kane made it back to the room a few minutes before the doctor arrived with Nell's test results. Zack hadn't moved from his seat, but when he saw Kane, he shut down the Doodle Pad App and turned around to smile at Kane. It made Kane's blackened heart swell. The fact that someone actually wanted to smile at him was a feeling that Kane had never experienced before. He slid into the seat beside Zack, and when Zack took his hand for the second time in twenty-four hours, he didn't try to deny that it felt nice.

The doctor came in, a warm smile on her face. "Mr. Jacobs, is it?"

Kane nodded. "Yes."

"I have your daughter's test results." The smile never faded. "Cornelia is just fine. She just has a small case of bronchitis. We administered some antibiotics via IV. You can take her home tomorrow."

A flood of relief washed over Kane, and for the first time, he realized exactly how exhausted he really was. "Thank you so much."

The doctor nodded. "Not a problem, Mr. Jacobs. Have a nice day."

When the doctor left, Zack turned to Kane. He realized that the man's mask, which he had carefully replaced in the car, was a little bit askew. Slowly, he reached forward and touched the leather mask. Kane flinched a little bit, but he didn't force Zack's hand away. In fact, if Zack wasn't mistaken, the man leaned into his touch a little bit. Zack smiled at that fact, even if he knew that Kane would never admit to it aloud. The Broski took a breath to calm himself. He knew what he wanted and he would take it.

"You should head back to your hotel room and sleep. Nell would want you to be fully rested." Zack said.

"Yeah." Kane was silent for a moment, before he said, "You haven't eaten, have you?" Zack shook his head. "Do you want to grab a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel?"

Zack's heart started to race at the idea of heading back to the hotel with Kane. It took him a moment to muster the courage to answer, but he was soon able to force out, "Sure."

**OOOO**

**A/N:** The Broski is the Interim SmackDown Manager for next week! Anyway, now that I have that out of my system, please review!


	12. K is for Kiss

**Title:** Flawed Perfection

**Rated:** M (Mature)

**Genre(s):** Romance/Angst

**Pair(s):** Kane/Zack, Kane/Lita

**Summary:** All his life, Kane has been told that he is a monster. He doesn't deserve to be loved. He doesn't deserve to live. His wife, the woman who claimed to love him for better or worse, tried to break him from the inside out. Now, all he has to live for are a child that's never seen his face and a brother who wants him to rot in hell. Kane's been taken to his limit. The heartless monster is in need of a savior like never before…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, besides the child.

**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Violence, Cruelty, etc.

**Part:** 12/? – K is for Kiss

**OOOO**

Eve couldn't believe it. Her offer had been turned down by a monster. A monster who should detest Zack Ryder. It couldn't be true. The woman shook her head and tried not to let it shake her confidence. She was a beautiful woman who could have any man that she wanted. What made Zack so special? It didn't take her too much time to realize the answer. She wanted Zack because he _didn't_ want her. And now, her best idea to force him to want her had been taken away. She huffed and put her hands on her slender hips. This wasn't fair.

The brunette steeled her features and walked out into the hall, where she was soon able to locate John Cena. Maybe, if she could finally convince him that all of his was one horrible mistake, she could convince him of her innocence and she could further manipulate him to use that newfound trust to her advantage. However, the desire to seek out Cena proved a bit more difficult then she had originally believed. He wasn't normally at SmackDown, so it was a bit difficult to locate him. However, she finally found him in Mike's locker room.

She stormed into The Miz's locker room and could barely contain a shout of horror. Mike and John were on the couch, with John buried balls-deep in Mike's ass. Her heart flew into her throat and she thought that she would choke, but she was finally able to calm herself. Their movements were fast and erratic, borderline uncontrolled, as they both neared their climax. A dark blush stained Eve's cheeks as she heard John moan Mike's name as he finished, Mike not too far behind. Without a word, she left. Well, that was an unfortunate turn of events.

Eve continued to walk down the hall, until she ran head-first into another dark-haired Diva. "What the hell? Why don't you take that clumsy -," she realized that the Diva was Rosa Mendez. "Oh, Rosa. How nice."

Rosa rolled her dark chocolate eyes. She had better things to do then to stoop to Eve's level and socialize with someone who would try and divide a friendship. "What do you want, Eve?"

"You dated Zack Ryder once, didn't you?" Eve asked. The question was more than a little unusual and it made Rosa more than a little uncomfortable.

"Yeah, I did. Why?" Rosa asked dryly. She wasn't in the mood for this.

Eve smirked. "What if I told you he was still interested?"

Rosa shook her head. "Well, I'm not." Rosa tried to walk off, but Eve wouldn't have it.

Rosa had to admit that she _did_ miss Zack. A little bit. She had loved him, once. But that was before he had won the United States Championship and the entire dynamic of their relationship had changed. Zack had moved up in the company and Rosa felt as if she was being left behind. She didn't like it. And she wasn't the kind to let her heart be broken twice by the same man. Currently, she managed the tag team champions, and she liked it like that. Her life and career revolved around them, but they cared about her too.

"Rosa," Eve pleaded with the smaller Diva. "He's in a bad place right now. I think he's about to make a serious mistake that could hurt him a lot. You _have_ to help me."

Rosa narrowed her chocolate eyes at the taller woman. "I don't have to do shit for you, Eve."

"It's not for me." Eve countered. "It's for Zack."

Rosa was silent for a moment, before she yanked her elbow out of Eve's hold. "Fine. I'll do it for Zack."

Eve smirked. "Good."

**OOOO**

"You didn't have to do that, Kane. I could have paid for dinner." Zack said. He silently cursed his insatiable appetite that had cost Kane quite a few pennies.

Kane shook his head. "No. I still owe you from that trip to Toys 'R Us. I know that Nell can be rather expensive to take to the toy store, so…"

The two walked together in a companionable silence. Kane was still uncomfortable from that conversation that he had had with Lita earlier. Why would she want to take Nell from him? Why would she lie and say that he wasn't the father of their baby? He was well-aware of the fact that Lita had cheated numerous times while they were married, but he would think that she would have the small sliver of kindness it would take to not tear his heart out and lie to him for so many years. Maybe he was mistaken. But that's what he wants to believe.

Zack seemed to notice that Kane was upset, because he took the monster's hand and started to walk a little faster. Kane perked up when Zack took his hand. The silence continued until they stood outside of the hotel. That's when the two turned to face each other. They had separate rooms on separate floors, and this would most likely be the last time that they saw each other until Raw next Monday. Oddly, for the first time, Zack realized that he would miss the monster. And he knew that Kane felt the same.

"Well, thanks for dinner." Zack said with a soft smile. "I'll see you on Monday, then."

Kane was about to let him leave, when something suddenly changed within him. Zack turned and started to walk off, but Kane reached out for him and took his arm. "Wait, Zack."

Zack turned to him, one eyebrow raised. "What's the matter, Kane?"

Kane pulled Zack closer and locked their lips in a somewhat desperate, tantalizing kiss that stole Zack's breath away. Zack's hands twisted in Kane's messy chocolate locks, gently tugging at them to draw the Big Red Monster closer. Kane's big hands snaked around the smaller man's waist and drew him so close that their hips brushed. He could feel the auburn-haired boy's obvious arousal, no matter how hard Zack tried to conceal it. A smirk slowly spread across the monster's face as he drew back.

"I'll see you on Monday, Zack." Kane drew back and entered the hotel, leaving an extremely aroused Zack behind.

**ONE WEEK LATER**

"I'm really sorry, man. You know that I would never hurt you like that." John said. "I love Mike and I know that if someone was to kiss him, best friend or not, I would want to bash their face in…"

Zack shook his head. "Don't worry about it, bro." He had this dreamy, star-struck look on his face. "I've come to realize that I never really liked Eve. I just used her so I wouldn't have to think about who I _really_ liked."

John raised an eyebrow as he came to sit beside his friend. "Okay. You know that you can trust me, Zack – the situation with Eve aside. "Who is the special woman?"

"It's not a woman." Zack said nonchalantly.

John's blue eyes widened. "No offense, kid, but I didn't think that you swayed that way."

"I didn't think that I did either." Zack said honestly. "But then I met her…"

Now, John was seriously confused. His best friend had just confessed that he was in love with another man, only to continue to say that he had met a special lady. "Who?"

"His four-year-old daughter, Cornelia. She's an absolute_ doll_, John. She's cute, funny, and all around adorable. She became attached to me, and that's how I met her father." Zack explained.

John was still confused. "But _who_ is her father?"

As if on cue, Kane stormed into the back. He had just steamrolled Daniel Bryan in a No Disqualification match. It had been fast and he had shown Bryan little mercy. Many believed that it was his frustration from having been beaten in a vicious WrestleMania rematch to Randy Orton, but Zack knew better. He could see into the monster's eyes. Someone had hurt him, and that worried Zack. John saw the look that Zack sent the monster and immediately it clicked. Frantically, he stood and yanked Zack to his feet.

Before Kane could even notice that the two had been there, John pulled Zack into the nearest locker room and closed and locked the door behind them. Zack shot him an odd look, but the look that Cena shot back told him to not question his motives at that moment. When John decided that they hadn't been followed, he turned a critical eye on Zack. It looked as if he was trying to determine whether or not The Broski was mentally unstable. He knew for a fact that Kane was, and anyone who would want to be with him would have to have a screw loose too.

"You can't be serious, Zack." John stated calmly.

Zack didn't seem the least bit deterred by John's comment. "Why not?"

"Because… because… Kane's mentally unstable! He's hurt you how many times, Zack? He almost ended your career! How can you love him?" John asked. He paced around uncontrollably, as if he couldn't believe it.

"It's the same as you and Mike." John tried to interject, but Zack wouldn't let him. "No, John, let me finish. Everyone thinks Mike is a total asshole. They don't see what you see. It's the same with Kane."

"I mean, sure – Kane _is_ a terrifying, seven-foot, three hundred plus pound, _monster_. There's no way to deny the fact that he is also mentally unstable -,"

Zack was cut off by a key entering the lock from outside and the masked monster himself entering the locker room. Zack blanched. No wonder it had looked so familiar. From the look on Kane's face, he had heard the entire conversation. Including the fact that not only John, but also Zack thought that he was a psychotic monster. Zack could read the hurt that was clearly written on the monster's face, and it killed him inside to know that he was the one who put it there. Quickly, Kane collected his stuff and stalked off.

"Kane, wait!" This time, it was Zack who called after the monster. But the monster didn't turn around…

**OOOO**

**A/N:** Another update! Please Review!


	13. L is for Love

**Title:** Flawed Perfection

**Rated:** M (Mature)

**Genre(s):** Romance/Angst

**Pair(s):** Kane/Zack, Kane/Lita

**Summary:** All his life, Kane has been told that he is a monster. He doesn't deserve to be loved. He doesn't deserve to live. His wife, the woman who claimed to love him for better or worse, tried to break him from the inside out. Now, all he has to live for are a child that's never seen his face and a brother who wants him to rot in hell. Kane's been taken to his limit. The heartless monster is in need of a savior like never before…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, besides the child.

**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Violence, Cruelty, etc.

**Part:** 13/? – L is for Love

**OOOO**

"Shit." Zack cursed himself. He should've known better. And now, he was forced to watch as Kane stalked off without him. How had all of this become so bad, so fast?

Zack raced out to his rental car and threw his stuff into the back, before he climbed into the driver's seat and started the car. Kane had already left. The Broski continued to curse himself as he tried (and failed) to drive out of the lot without causing an accident. His attention faltered for a moment and he almost connected head-on with Randy Orton's car. When The Viper slammed down on the horn, Zack hit the brakes and a collision was narrowly avoided. Zack shook his head furiously. He needed to concentrate.

Thankfully, he was able to make it to the hotel without another incident. The car that he knew that Kane had rented sat directly in front of the hotel, abandoned. It was only then that Zack realized that he didn't know what hotel room Kane was in. Well, shit. That certainly was an unfortunate turn of events. Slowly, The Broski slid out of his car and collected his stuff. He tried to think of a Plan B, but then he realized that he never actually had a Plan A. What could he do to make this better?

When he entered the hotel, he was immediately hit with a burst of cold air. He shivered a little bit, but was able to hide it well. He went to the front desk and set his stuff down. A few minutes later, a bubbly blonde walked over to him. She had the biggest blue eyes that Zack had ever seen, and the first few buttons on her hotel-issued shirt were undone to reveal (fake) breasts. A name tag on the left side of her chest revealed that her name was 'Kristie'. And as her blue eyes scanned Zack's body, he knew that she liked what she saw.

"Hello, and welcome to the Comfort Inn. What can I do for you today?" Her voice trembled a little bit, which caused Zack to smirk. It made her melt like butter.

"Actually, I _do_ need some assistance." Zack said nonchalantly. "You see, I have this friend. His name is Glen Jacobs. I believe that he has a room at this hotel, actually."

Kristie's eyes widened. "I'm really not at liberty to disclose that kind of information, sir."

Zack shook his head. "You're a beautiful woman, has anyone told you that?" A dark blush spread over her cheeks. "And if you do this for me, well…you're off tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Yes." She nodded. "But, how did you know that?"

"I have my ways." Zack answered.

Kristie was fast to look up Kane's room number and eventually handed over a set of keys to Zack. "There. He's in room 209. And tomorrow, I'm off from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM."

"Thanks sweetheart." Zack winked at her. "I'll see you for breakfast tomorrow, then."

The poor woman just about fainted at the very idea of it. However, Zack didn't stick around to see to the woman's fantasies. He rushed down the hall and walked by the elevator. It would be faster to take the stairs. Once he reached the second floor, he was soon able to locate room 209. He looked down at the keys in his hand. Wouldn't it be considered rude if he used his key to enter without Kane's permission? Then, what reason would Kane have to allow him inside? Zack was conflicted.

Finally, he slid the key into his back pocket and knocked on the door. There was a low rumble from inside, before the door opened. It was Nell. She smiled up at Zack innocently, and Zack knew at once that Kane hadn't mentioned the incident to her – or he hadn't had time to. He tried to catch her before she could run off, but the child called for her father and skipped off before he could. Zack could've hit himself right about then. He _still_ had no idea what he wanted to say to Kane. And now that he was face to face with the man, he felt incredibly nauseous.

"Kane." Zack breathed softly. The monster's face twitched, but otherwise he didn't show any emotion.

Kane blinked once. "What do you want, Ryder? You do realize that it's almost one in the morning, don't you? Or were you under the impression that monsters don't need to sleep?"

Zack flinched. "Actually, I'm here to talk to you about that monster comment." Kane was ready to shut the door in his face, but Zack wouldn't let him. "It was totally taken out of context, Kane."

Kane growled at him. "I don't want to hear it."

This time, Kane was a little faster. He slammed the door in Zack's face before the twenty-seven year old had a chance to blink. Zack felt like a vice had enclosed around his heart and slowly started to squeeze it until it could barely beat. It shouldn't be like this. He and Kane should be happy. After all that Kane had been through, he deserved one minute of happiness. Was that too much to ask for? Gathering what little confidence he had left, he raised his hand and knocked one more time.

"I told you once, Cardona." Zack tensed at the mention of his actual name. Kane must _really_ be furious. "I'm not in the mood to be used. Go find some Barbie like Eve and fuck her brains out. I don't care."

Zack tried to blink back the wayward tears that had started to form. "No. I know that you don't care about me. But, I care about you. Kane, I l-,"

"_Don't_ say it. Don't you dare lie to me." Kane roared. "Go rot in hell, Ryder."

The door slammed closed in his face. "I'm already there."

**OOOO**

Zack walked back to his hotel room, his face streaked with tears that he was unable to control. His hand trembled uncontrollably as he tried to unlock the door, and when he was finally able to do so, he entered inside to find that all of the lights had already been turned on. Great. He gets his heart broken and comes back to find some crazy serial murderer in his room. That would just make his day. However, the intruder in his room was a far cry from a serial murderer. Unless, of course, she meant to kill him with sex.

Rosa Mendez was stretched out on his bed, scantily clad with a still-wrapped condom between her lips. She wore one of the corsets that she would wear when she accompanied Primo and Epico to the ring, but this one was dyed a flamboyant purple with an orange 'Z' in the middle. She also wore the matching thong. Her heels were lavender stilettos with skulls all over them and laces on the heels. In short, she was sex personified. And Zack honestly couldn't care less. At that moment, all he wanted to do was be with Kane.

"You're late." Rosa said matter-of-factly. She sounded totally disinterested, but it was difficult to tell with how thick her accent was. "Why?"

"I went to see Kane." Zack said as he looked down at his hands. They trembled and were wet with tears.

Rosa slid down to the end of the bed and took hold of Zack's wrist. "Come here, Matt. You seem tense. I can make you feel better." Rosa offered.

Zack looked her over once. The uncertainty that he felt was clear in his eyes. "I don't want to have sex, Rosa. I'm not in the mood." However, he let her lead him to the bed. "I just want…"

Rosa looked at him, honest interest in her chocolate brown doe-eyes. "What do you want, Matt?"

"I want Kane." Zack confessed to no-one. He seemed so distant, Rosa wasn't even sure he knew she was there.

Did Eve realize that Zack was this much of an emotional wreck when she recruited Rosa to come and sleep with him? If she did, then that woman needed more help then she had originally thought. Rosa sighed and slithered up so that they were both closer to the headboard, and both set their heads on their respective pillows. Rosa gently stroked the man's arm and shoulder in an effort to calm him, but she wasn't sure how well it worked. He seemed tense and sad, and it made Rosa feel awful. She took a tissue and dried the auburn-haired man's eyes.

"I made a mistake, Rosa. A horrible, horrible mistake. I didn't mean what came out of my mouth. I never meant to hurt him. I _love_ him. And he doesn't even care about me." Zack ranted carelessly.

"I'm sure that that's not true, Matt." Rosa continued to stroke his soft hair in order to comfort him. "Kane has a hard time with his emotions. It's understandable with how messed-up he was as a child."

"I never meant to hurt him." Zack said once more.

"What did you say to him?" Rose asked, suddenly interested.

"I said that he was a monster and mentally unstable. But I wasn't finished. It's true that I said all of that, but I would've continued with the fact that that doesn't matter to me. I love him anyway. His imperfections only make him _more_ perfect." Zack said sadly.

"Have you tried to tell him that?" Rosa asked.

Zack looked at her as if she had obtained a third head. "Of course I've tried to tell him that! He almost bit my head off and told me to go rot in hell!"

Rosa nodded. For some reason, even if she wasn't still in love with Zack, she was still rather protective of him. "It would seem as if I need to have a talk with Kane."

Zack didn't comment, so Rosa took that as the green light that she needed. "Rosa," Zack asked as she slid off of the bed and slid into her black, knee-length leather jacket. "Why were you here?"

Rosa rolled her eyes. "Eve sent me. She seems totally convinced that you love her and that this love that you have for a man is only a phase. But don't worry, I'll take care of her for you."

Zack blinked at her slowly. "Thank you, Rosa."

Rosa didn't respond. Instead, she drew the drawstring of her robe and nodded to Zack one last time. She would head back to her own hotel room and talk to Kane tomorrow morning. However, she barely made it out of Zack's hotel room when she (literally) ran into the Chain Gang Commander, John Cena. She fell down, but was quick to grab the front of her robe to make sure that the Boy Scout of the WWE couldn't see what she had on. But, as it turned out, he did notice the fact that she had come out of Zack's hotel room.

"Why were you in Zack's hotel room, Rosa?" John asked.

**OOOO**

**A/N:** Another chapter down! Please Review and I will try and update as soon as I can!


	14. M is for Monsters

**Title:** Flawed Perfection

**Rated:** M (Mature)

**Genre(s):** Romance/Angst

**Pair(s):** Kane/Zack, Kane/Lita

**Summary:** All his life, Kane has been told that he is a monster. He doesn't deserve to be loved. He doesn't deserve to live. His wife, the woman who claimed to love him for better or worse, tried to break him from the inside out. Now, all he has to live for are a child that's never seen his face and a brother who wants him to rot in hell. Kane's been taken to his limit. The heartless monster is in need of a savior like never before…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, besides the child.

**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Violence, Cruelty, etc.

**Part:** 14/? – M is for Monsters

**OOOO**

"What?" Rosa asked. She was still shocked that she had run into the Cenation Hero at such a late hour.

"Well, it's actually kind of obvious. You're in a robe with, what looks to be, very little underneath. You were in there for some intimate time with The Broski." John said matter-of-factly.

Neither realized that Kane had come out of his hotel room and now hovered in the hallway. He had been a bit restless and he needed to stretch, so he had decided to walk back and forth down the hall until he could tire himself out. That's when he heard Rosa and John. Rosa stood outside of Zack's hotel room in little more than a black, silky robe. It couldn't be… no, Zack wouldn't do that. He had been so heartbroken when Kane had told him to leave him alone, Kane didn't want to think that he could rebound so fast.

However, all of the facts were there. Rosa stood outside of Zack's hotel room, scantily clad, with a set of the most obnoxious heels that Kane had ever seen on her feet. She shifted awkwardly from side to side, and on a few rare occasions, Kane was able to see the hint of a dark corset underneath her robe. He didn't want to believe that Zack would sleep with her, but then, all of the evidence seemed to say that he did. Kane felt his blackened heart sink in his chest. Zack didn't love him after all.

"I don't have time for this. I need to find Kane so that I can talk to him." Rosa said. She tried to make her way around John, but the Cenation Hero wouldn't let her.

"I just want to make sure that Zack's okay, Rosa." John said. Rosa could tell from the strained lilt in his voice that he was serious in his concern for Zack. "He rushed out on me and I just want to make sure that he's okay."

Rosa finally showed a shred of mercy. "He's not okay, John. He's not okay at all."

John's easy, kind-hearted nature fell away and a dark look haunted his face. "What's the matter with him?"

"He wanted to talk to Kane about some stupid comment that he made because he didn't have a chance to explain himself, but the monster shot him down." Rosa elaborated.

Kane flinched at that word. Monster. It was the only word that could cause such a violent storm of emotion to form within the big man. He _hated_ that word with a violent passion. He had ever since Paul Bearer had called him it as a child, after the first time that the former apprentice had seen his disfigured face. Kane knew that he was a monster. He didn't have a conscience. He didn't have a heart. But if that was true, then what was that dull ache in his chest that told him that maybe he cared a little bit more about Zack than he was ready to admit?

No. He couldn't think like that. If Zack wanted to call him a monster, to hell with him. He was just like all of the others. He waltzed into Kane's life and pretended to be different. And, like a fool, Kane had believed him. That's when Zack had gone in for the kill. Kane had been vulnerable and had gone down without a fight. But he was wise and wouldn't fall for the same rouse twice. He wouldn't let that hard shell around his heart be broken yet again. He would move on, like he always did. Zack could rot in hell for all he cared.

"What stupid comment?" John asked. He seemed truly confused.

Rosa rolled her chocolate brown eyes. "You don't remember the conversation that the two of you had in that locker room that seemed to be abandoned? You asked him what he saw in Kane."

John nodded. "Yeah. Actually, I do remember that." And then, the blank look returned to his face. "He had more to say, huh? Well, then, obviously he's told you what he wanted to say."

"Why should I tell you?" Rosa asked, indignant.

"Because I'm his best friend and I'm worried about him?" John offered.

John flashed his dimples and Rosa relented. "Fine, but you can't tell him that I told you."

The smile fell and he looked totally serious once more. "I swear, those words will never pass these lips."

"Good." Rosa looked him over once. "He said that he doesn't care about the fact that Kane is a monster. In fact, it only makes him love Kane more. 'His imperfections make him more perfect' were his exact words."

"Wow." John shook his head fondly. "The kid's really fallen hard. Next thing you know, he'll be writing Kane love letters and sending him bouquets of flowers."

Rosa smacked his arm harshly. "Be serious, John! He's really upset about all of this!"

"I am serious, Rosa. The kid needs to understand that, if he plays with fire, he'll be burned." John said.

"You think that Kane would actually hurt him?" Rosa asked, astonished. She had never seen it like that before.

"Not intentionally. In fact, I think that Kane has it for Zack just as bad as the kid has it for him. But he is a loose cannon. It's impossible to tell when his fuse will blow…" John's voice trailed off as Kane started to walk away.

Kane couldn't handle the note of accusation in John's voice. He would never even _dream_ of hurting Zack. It wasn't in his nature to hurt, to destroy. He had been raised into it. Paul Bearer had almost brainwashed him to believe that it was okay to hurt others, but in the end, that one shred of decency still remained within Kane. He wouldn't hurt Zack because, as hard as it was to admit it, John Cena had been correct. Kane had fallen hard and fast for The Broski, and now he had to pick up the scattered pieces…

**TUESDAY, SMACKDOWN**

Zack's heart hadn't really been into his match. When he took off his sunglasses and flashed his signature grin at the crowd, there was a little bit less enthusiasm behind the sentiment. His match was against Dolph, whose usual cockiness faded a little bit when he saw the uncharacteristic gloom on Zack's face. The two didn't like each other all that much, but there was a mutual respect that most wrestlers shared for each other that flowed between them. Dolph made quick work of The Broski and didn't show off at all. In the end, Dolph had the three count for the win.

Zack walked into the back, his head bowed as he tried to work the kinks out of his neck. He had had a lot of time to think over the last twenty-four hours. He realized that he had actually cared for Kane for a lot longer than he was originally willing to admit. In fact, the feelings could, potentially, date back to when Kane first attacked him and put him in a wheelchair. Before now, thought, he had just been too afraid of the monster to admit to it. And now, he may have lost that chance entirely.

A hand slithered around his shoulder and he froze. He knew those well-manicured nails anywhere. "Eve. What a… pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?"

Eve smiled at him, but the smile was dark and he didn't like it at all. "I just talked to John Laureinitis about your opponent for next week on Raw. Do you want to know his name?"

Zack blinked. "Well, I would assume since you came all of this way to back me into a corner, you'd tell me."

Eve just shook her head. It seemed as if his cruel words hadn't even dented her concrete exterior. "Your opponent for next week on Raw is none other than Mark Henry."

"W-What?" Zack almost choked on the air.

"You heard me, Zackie. Your opponent is Mark Henry." Eve said. "But… there is a chance that I…"

Zack rolled his eyes. _Here comes the stipulation_. "There's a chance that you could do 'what', Eve? I don't have all day to waste in this arena."

"I didn't know that you were so eager to climb into bed alone." Eve hissed viciously. Her words cut Zack to the bone. "But, that's not what I wanted to say. I wanted to say that, if you come on a date with me, I'm sure that I could -,"

Zack shook his head. "Dream on, sweetie. I'm in love and I don't intend to let you ruin." Zack looked down at the floor. "I can do that by myself."

"But, Zack -," Eve reached out for him.

"I said NO, Eve! Learn what the damn word means!" Zack snapped at her.

With that said, Zack stormed into his locker room and slammed the door closed. Even with the door closed, he could still hear the muffled sound of Kane's music start to fill the arena. He wondered if Kane even cared about him anymore, not that it would matter for very long. This match with Mark Henry could end his career and then he wouldn't have to worry about seeing Kane every day and wondering what he could have done to make it better. Total exhaustion coursed through him as he crashed face-first onto the couch and let out a loud sigh.

Slowly, Zack rolled over onto his back and rubbed his hands over his face. He didn't deserve Kane, he decided. If he was supposed to be with Kane, then this all would have played out differently. And now, he was about to be slaughtered by Mark Henry. It seemed to be a rather unfortunate end. The man was no short of a monster in the ring, even more so than Kane. Because, with Kane, he wasn't blatantly trying to hurt you (most of the time). Mark Henry, on the other hand, was a war machine that was out for blood. Zack's blood.

"Shit!" Zack exclaimed as he slammed his fist into the coffee table. "I don't want to do this…"

**OOOO**

**A/N:** Please Review!


	15. N is for Nobody

**Title:** Flawed Perfection

**Rated:** M (Mature)

**Genre(s):** Romance/Angst

**Pair(s):** Kane/Zack, Kane/Lita

**Summary:** All his life, Kane has been told that he is a monster. He doesn't deserve to be loved. He doesn't deserve to live. His wife, the woman who claimed to love him for better or worse, tried to break him from the inside out. Now, all he has to live for are a child that's never seen his face and a brother who wants him to rot in hell. Kane's been taken to his limit. The heartless monster is in need of a savior like never before…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, besides the child.

**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Violence, Cruelty, etc.

**Part:** 15/? – N is for Nobody

**OOOO**

**MONDAY, RAW**

It was time for the moment of truth. The career that he had dreamed of for his entire life would end in one miniscule match. Mark ambushed Zack before he even made it down to the ring, landing swift blows that tried to tear Zack into two. Zack didn't even have the heart to try and battle back. He was too weak, too tired. All he could think about was Kane and how, not even after Rosa said that she had talked to him (or, _tried_ to talk to him rather) earlier that week, he slid refused to see Zack. It hurt a lot more than he let on.

Mark bashed his head on the turnbuckle and Zack felt a warm splash of blood coat the side of his face. Zack let out a low moan and floundered, before Mark threw him at the steel stairs and watched with sick satisfaction as he watched Zack roll down and land flat on his face. The Broski squirmed a bit and spat out a bitter mouthful of blood that stemmed from him biting down on the inside of his mouth. He coughed and writhed. He must've broken one of his ribs, because his whole chest felt like it was on fire.

That's when a loud crack filled the arena. Zack's heart fell as the familiar dirge pulsed throughout the arena – it was Kane's music. Now, Zack was totally sure that this would be his last match. Kane would end his career, and in his celebration, would toss Zack off of the side of the ramp and kill him. Zack squeezed his eyes closed and waited for the blow to end it all, but it never came. Instead, he heard a loud, startled cry come out of the crowd. Risking a look up, he saw that Kane had taken down Mark Henry with a dropkick to the head. The match was called for interference.

And then, Kane knelt down and scooped Zack into his arms. Zack let out a startled little shout as Kane shifted him over so that he was stretched over the big man's shoulder, and the most that he could do was bunch his hand into the material of the man's wrestling gear and hold on for dear life. The crowd couldn't decide whether to be shocked or confused, but they _were_ happy about the fact that Mark Henry had been laid-out and didn't look like he would be moving for a very, _very _long time.

"Kane?" Zack asked softly. He had just started to realize that he was bleeding on Kane's bare arm, so he moved his head a little bit. Unfortunately, that movement caused their heads to knock together.

"Just keep your mouth shut, Zack." Kane said calmly. When they finally reached the back and entered the monster's locker room, Kane tossed him down onto the couch.

"Why did you save me? I thought that you were mad at me." Zack said with a note of sadness in his voice.

"I want you to say it." Kane said.

Zack blinked dumbly. "You want me to say _what_, exactly?"

Kane looked down at the floor and Zack could've sworn that he saw the hint of a flush on Kane's cheeks. "I want you to finish what you were saying to John Cena."

"Oh." Zack looked down at his hands. "I told him that it was true that you are a monster. But I would have gone on to say that that doesn't matter to me. I… I love you anyway. I know that that sounds sappy, but…"

Zack was barely able to contain a muffled shout as Kane leaned forward and fused their mouths together in a breathtaking kiss. Zack's heart hammered madly in his chest as he realized what this meant. This meant that Kane loved him too, even if it was a little too soon for the monster to be able to voice the words. If he wasn't in the middle of a rather heated kiss, he was sure that he would be jumping up and down for joy. Kane may laugh at him (he would actually love to hear the monster laugh) but that was what he wanted to do.

Kane drew back slowly and looked Zack in the eye. "I… I believe you. And now, I need you to do something for me."

Zack blinked and nodded energetically. "Anything."

"I want you to take my mask off for me." Kane said so softly that Zack wasn't sure if he had heard. "I want you to take it off, and if you can still stand to look at me, at the monster, I want you to tell me that you love me again."

Zack didn't even hesitate. He took off Kane's mask buckle by buckle and started at the beautiful, unblemished skin underneath. "You're beautiful; Kane… and I still love you."

Zack slithered over Kane's body and kissed him hard. All of the love that he felt, all of the emotion that he had been unable to voice… all of these and more poured out of him now. He ground his hips down against Kane's. "Zack?"

"Yeah, Kane?" Zack returned. His eyes were hazed over and his voice was thick with lust.

"Are you sure about this?" Kane asked hesitantly, almost as if he were afraid that Zack would back down.

Zack slid his hands under the straps of Kane's unitard. "I'm positive."

And Zack was sure that, as long as he was with Kane, no one would ever hurt him again…

**OOOO**

**A/N:** Sorry it was so short, but major things to come in the next chapter! Please Review!


	16. O is for Okay

**Title:** Flawed Perfection

**Rated:** M (Mature)

**Genre(s):** Romance/Angst

**Pair(s):** Kane/Zack, Kane/Lita

**Summary:** All his life, Kane has been told that he is a monster. He doesn't deserve to be loved. He doesn't deserve to live. His wife, the woman who claimed to love him for better or worse, tried to break him from the inside out. Now, all he has to live for are a child that's never seen his face and a brother who wants him to rot in hell. Kane's been taken to his limit. The heartless monster is in need of a savior like never before…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, besides the child.

**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Violence, Cruelty, etc.

**Part:** 16/? – O is for Okay

**OOOO**

"Have you ever done this with a man before?" Kane asked softly. He had turned them around so that Zack was flat on his back on the leather couch and Kane straddled the smaller man's waist.

Zack shook his head, a little bit ashamed of the dark blush that started to spread across his cheeks. "No."

Kane nodded and brushed his hands softly over Zack's bare chest. "Nothin' to be ashamed about, kid. I'll be sure to take it nice and slow. And if you want to stop, all you have to do is say so. Okay?"

Zack swallowed hard. He wasn't used to this side of Kane, this kinder side. Maybe there was an entirely different side to the monster that the world was too blind to see. "Okay."

Carefully, Kane slid the wristbands off of Zack's arms and tossed them down onto the floor. His meaty hands continued to trail down the smaller man's chest, which was still coated in baby oil from his match. When his fingers hooked into the waistband of Zack's trunks, a small tremor of excitement and fear shot down the smaller man's body. Kane frowned. With slow, deliberate movements, he tried to assure Zack that he didn't intend to hurt him. He traced the outline of Zack's muscles until; finally, he reached his waistband once more.

After several moments of hesitation, Kane drew Zack's trunks down and slid it over The Broski's feet. Now, all that Zack had on were his boots, knee pads, and a black thong. The dark flush returned as Kane stared at him candidly. It was so different, being able to look into the monster's eyes and study his handsome face. And Kane _was_ handsome. There was no reason to deny the blatantly obvious. Zack's inner rant was disrupted when Kane unbuckled his boots and slid them off, one after the other. His knee pads followed soon after.

This left Zack only in his little black thong. Kane hooked one finger underneath the strap and yanked, his face contorting in a satisfied smirk when the strap broke and the cloth fell away, teasingly revealing the skin underneath inch by inch. Zack pouted. It was a little unfair that he was totally naked and Kane still had all of his clothes on. Kane must've understood what that look meant, because he slid out of his boots and his unitard soon after. He took his briefs off next, and now both of them were totally naked.

Kane looked down at the smaller man. "Are you absolutely sure about this, Zack?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure." And then, almost hesitantly, he added. "This will hurt, won't it?"

Kane looked him in the eyes. He could see the honest fear that resided there. He didn't want to scare him, but he didn't want to disillusion him either. "Just a little bit." He assured.

Zack searched his face for any kind of lie, but then he nodded. "Okay."

"We don't have any lube." Kane said distractedly. "Do you have a bottle of body wash in your bag? That would be an acceptable substitute."

Zack sat up so fast that he almost knocked heads with Kane. "Yeah, I do. But… isn't my bag in the locker room still?" When Kane shook his head, Zack's confusion mounted. "You brought it with you?"

"Nah. I brought it in before I went out to save you from Mark Henry." Kane said with an air of satisfaction.

Kane slid off of the couch, walked over to where he had tossed down Zack's bag, and retrieved the aforementioned bottle of body wash. He sat back down on the couch and slid one of Zack's legs onto his shoulder. Squeezing a small, quarter-sized amount of body wash into his hand, he slicked his fingers until it the substance was warm and gently pressed his middle finger into Zack's entrance. The Broski whined and tensed, but Kane tenderly rubbed Zack's hips and his stomach until he relaxed.

Slowly, Kane eased another finger inside of Zack and was pleased when he didn't tense at the intrusion. In fact, if Kane heard correctly, the auburn-haired man let out a little moan. Kane searched around a little bit, before he was finally able to locate that precious bundle of nerves that would make Zack see stars. After a moment, he brushes over the extremely sensitive area. Zack cried out and bucked down on Kane's fingers, eagerly trying to take more in. Kane slid in one more and finished the preparation.

He drew out to a soft whimper from Zack. And then, he took the bottle of body wash and drizzled a sizeable amount onto his cock, before he slathered it around to make sure that it was evenly coated. He readjusted Zack's leg on his shoulder to make sure that Zack would be as comfortable as possible, before he eased into The Broski's hot, virgin channel. Zack cried out as a white-hot burn tore through his lower body. It hurt a little more than he was ready for, but Kane took it slow and once he bottomed out, he froze and waited.

After a moment, Zack weakly ordered him to, "M-Move…"

Kane started out nice and slow. He didn't want to tear the auburn-haired man, after all. But once the head of his cock slammed into Zack's prostate, that was the end of that. Zack took control and flipped them over so that Kane was on his back; before he proceeded to ride the monster for all that he was worth. There was a certain fluidity to his movements that made Kane question whether or not he was truly a virgin, but he knew that Zack wasn't the kind to lie about that sort of information.

Zack slid down on Kane over and over, before he leaned down and kissed the monster, muffling his own moan as he came on both of their stomachs. Leaning forward, he continued to grind his overly-sensitive cock into the mess that he had made on Kane's stomach. And then, he clenched down on Kane's erection. The monster couldn't take any more of this stimulation. He growled as he came, filling Zack with his seed and marking the boy as his own. And, for the first time since his divorce from Lita, Kane felt complete.

**OOOO**

Eve had been totally betrayed by Rosa. Not only had that little witch refused to have sex with Zack, she had turned around and filed a harassment case with the Board of Directions, which had Eve on a probation period of six months. If she harassed any other WWE Superstar or Diva, she could be suspended for up to a year. It was a little disconcerting, but it wasn't about to stop her. She took out her phone and dialed a number that was all too familiar to her. Within minutes, the other woman answered.

""Lita? We need to talk."

**OOOO**

**A/N:** Not my first sex scene with Kane, but my first Zack Ryder sex scene… I think it turned out well. Please Review!


	17. P is for Patience

**Title:** Flawed Perfection

**Rated:** M (Mature)

**Genre(s):** Romance/Angst

**Pair(s):** Kane/Zack, Kane/Lita

**Summary:** All his life, Kane has been told that he is a monster. He doesn't deserve to be loved. He doesn't deserve to live. His wife, the woman who claimed to love him for better or worse, tried to break him from the inside out. Now, all he has to live for are a child that's never seen his face and a brother who wants him to rot in hell. Kane's been taken to his limit. The heartless monster is in need of a savior like never before…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, besides the child.

**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Violence, Cruelty, etc.

**Part:** 17/? – P is for Patience

**OOOO**

Kane arrived at his hotel room about an hour later, Zack Ryder in tow. The boy was still a little sore from his first time. That _and_ almost his entire forehead was busted and bloody. Kane unlocked the door to the hotel room and hauled Zack's body inside. He carried him a little further and set him down on the bed, carefully drawing the blankets up over his lithe body. The Broski shifted and let out a low moan, but otherwise he didn't make a sound. Kane almost smiled, but it was difficult to see as he had restored his mask on his face.

Kane then walked over to the other bed in the corner of the room. Nell was curled under the blankets, a Zack Ryder Brawlin' Buddy in her arms. Over the last two weeks, the child and the doll had become inseparable. He leaned down and kissed her forehead softly. Ever so slowly, her chocolate eyes fluttered and came to rest on his red leather clad face. She smiled and made to sit up, but Kane tenderly ushered her back down so that she was flat on the mattress. It was much too late for the four-year-old to be awake, anyway.

"Daddy?" Nell tilted her head to the side. Her wide, chocolate eyes focused in on Kane's face. "Are you tired, Daddy? You look tired." Nell said with a hint of concern.

"Yeah, I'm tired. But you shouldn't be worried about me. I just wanted to see how you felt. How is that cough?" Kane asked as he brushed Nell's red curls away from her face.

"I feel good. The cough went away." Nell answered honestly.

"Good, sweetie. Good." Kane continued to stroke her hair. "Listen, Cornelia. Can I ask you something?"

Nell nodded hurriedly. Her red curls bobbed on her shoulders. "Sure, Daddy."

"You like Zack, don't you?" A nod. "Well, what would you say if I told you that Zack plans to stick around for awhile? I really like him and I want him to be part of our family." Kane said.

"Does Zack like to play Barbie dolls?" Nell asked seriously.

Kane's eyes widened a bit. "Well, since he was the one who bought most of your new Barbie stuff, I'm sure that he wouldn't be opposed to playing Barbie dolls with you." Kane reasoned.

Nell nodded assuredly. "Okay, then. He can stay."

Kane blinked. Was it really that easy? "Okay, baby. Get some sleep now. I love you."

Nell smiled at him. "Okay, Daddy. I love you too."

Kane kissed her forehead and tenderly tucked her back in. He then walked over to his own bed, which Zack had been placed on (The Broski had rolled over so much that he easily took up three-quarters of the bed), and carefully shoved Zack over onto his own side. Immediately after he climbed into bed, Zack rolled over onto him and curled his body around him. Kane didn't have the heart to shove him off. And while he wasn't exactly a cuddler by nature, he found that he liked the feel of Zack's body on his.

Carefully, he reached behind his head and unbuckled all of the clasps that hooked the mask onto his head. He stretched out and set the mask on the bedside table. He knew that he would awaken before everyone else and put the mask back on. Even if Zack had told him that he looked handsome without the mask and he loved him either way, he still was afraid to show Nell what he looked like underneath. What if she hated him? What if she thought that he was a monster? He didn't think he could take it if Nell hated him because he was a monster.

Zack stretched out and set his head on Kane's chest. "Mmm… love you."

Kane waited until he was absolutely sure that both Zack and Nell were asleep, before he answered. "I love you too."

**OOOO**

"You called and said that we needed to talk." Lita looked at Eve with a bored expression. Matt hovered in the doorway to the kitchen. "What did you want to say? In case you haven't realized, I'm kind of busy."

"I've heard that you've been keeping tabs on Kane. As it would seem, the two of you have some unfinished business. But don't worry. I'm not here to stick my nose into your business." Eve said.

Lita raised one dark red eyebrow. "Really? Well, that's… abnormally kind of you, Eve. I'm impressed."

Eve smiled darkly. "I'm here to impress."

Matt rolled his eyes. He didn't like Eve and didn't trust her around Lita. "Okay, so if you're not here to talk about Kane, then what _are_ you here to talk about? I have a doctor's appointment to make."

"As you well know, I had a _small_ affair with Zack Ryder." Eve started out.

Lita smirked. "A _small_ affair, huh? I believe that what you had with Zack could be considered a bit more than a _small_ affair, Eve. He loved you and you used him. It's classic Eve." Lita said easily.

Eve chose to brush that comment off. "I didn't use him. I love him just as much as he loves me, and I _know_ that he still does. I just need a little bit of help to make him see that himself."

"I don't think that he loves you anymore." Lita said calmly.

Eve frowned. "How do you know?"

Lita fell silent for a moment. She could very easily tell Eve about the budding relationship between Zack and Kane, but if the taller Diva couldn't figure it out on her own, what use would it be for Eve to enlighten her? Lita frowned and shifted on the couch to make herself more comfortable. Matt chose that moment to make his presence known. He took a seat beside his wife and handed her a mug of hot chocolate to ward off the chill. Lita thanked him with a small smile, before she started to drink.

Lita continued to contemplate the issue. This situation could definitely be used to her advantage. If she could prove that Kane was an unfit father to Cornelia, then she would have the child and Kane would be all alone. Maybe he would end up in the mental institution that Lita had always known that he belonged in. As for Zack… well, he was just an unfortunate bump in the road. And then there was Eve, who could easily be manipulated into a means for the end. To Lita, it didn't really matter _how_ it happened. She just wanted her daughter back.

Finally, Lita turned back to Eve with a deceptively charming smile. Eve looked so sure that Lita had decided to go along with her plan, but really, Lita had an agenda all her own. Her patience was about to pay off. If she could convince Eve that she was willing to take Zack out of the picture, then Kane would have a breakdown, which would lead to her receiving full custody of their daughter. This couldn't have worked out better for her. And she barely even had to dirty her hands.

"Okay." Lita nodded after several moments of silence. She took another drink of her hot chocolate. "The only way that we do this is by _my_ rules. So, here's the deal."

Eve nodded hurriedly. She just wanted this mess over and done with and to have Zack with her, where he belonged. "I'm all ears."

"I'll take care of Zack. A few phone calls, some emergency files, and he'll be back in Long Island faster than you can say 'Broski'. As for Kane, we lie and say that he left him. He doesn't love him or want him anymore."

"It will destroy him." Eve said with a sinister smile. "Somehow, I knew that I would like the way you do business."

Lita returned the smile. "If you keep up with that attitude, I'm sure that we will be the best of friends. Now, in order to put our plan into action, we need access to Zack's personal history. I think Mr. Laureinitis has all of that information."

"Yes." Eve knew exactly where this was going. "He does.

**OOOO**

**A/N:** Please Review!


	18. Q is for Questions

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, other than Nell.  
**Rated:** M (Mature)  
**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Violence, Cruelty

* * *

Zack rolled over and looked at the clock on the bedside table. 3:37 AM. Was it really that early? He felt like he had slept for a century! Zack sighed and rolled over onto his side, burrowing himself deeper into Kane's arms. And that's when he noticed that Kane hadn't put his mask back on. The Broski smiled as he studied the serene look on the older man's face. He looked totally content and so unlike the monster that everyone was used to. It was kind of surreal.

But, of course, all moments of perfection have to meet their end sometime. Zack was startled out of his silent reverie when he heard a loud buzz come from the bedside table. It took him a minute to remember that he had set his phone on vibrate before he went back to the hotel with Kane because he didn't want it to disturb Nell. Slowly, he untangled himself from the web of Kane's arms and made to answer the call before it automatically switched to voice mail.

"Hello. You've reached Matt Cardona. What can I do for you?" It was an unfamiliar number, so it would really throw the caller off if he introduced himself as 'Zack Ryder'.

"Hello, Mr. Cardona. This is Dr. Matthew Orville from Grandview Hospital. I am calling on behalf of your father. It would seem as if he has suffered a severe heart attack. You were his emergency contact." The doctor said solemnly.

"What?" Zack's eyes widened considerably. He could feel his entire world slowly fall apart. "But… but he doesn't have a history of any heart problems. He's as healthy as a horse. How could this have happened?"

"I know. We were as surprised as you are. But sometimes, this sort of thing comes out of nowhere." The doctor said.

Zack didn't even know what to say. "Is he okay now, though? Can I come over and see him?"

"We honestly don't know." The doctor explained. "He's in surgery right now. We believe that one of the valves that pumps blood from the heart died in the attack. It's a matter of life and death."

"Oh, God." Zack rubbed a hand over his face slowly. A few tears slid down his cheeks. "I'll be there soon."

Terrified for the fact that his father could die and he wouldn't be there to spend his last moments with him, Zack hurriedly climbed out of bed and started to dress himself. He hesitated for a moment as he wondered if he should tell Kane that his father was sick and he needed to be with him, but he decided against it. Kane needed his sleep; he didn't need to be worried about Zack.

But someone _did_ hear him on his way out. Little Nell sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes with her balled fists, her tiny mouth pulled down into a pout. She watched as Zack ran around and dressed, totally confused. It was still so early in the morning. Why was he awake? She decided to call out to him seconds before he made it out the door. Zack turned to her, a little surprised that she was still awake.

"Nell, sweetie, why are you still awake? It's still early and I don't want your Daddy to be mad at me." Zack said. He walked over and sat down at the foot of Nell's bed.

"You're not gonna leave us like Mommy did, are you? 'Cause, if you hurt my Daddy, then I'll have to hurt you." Nell put up her little fists, a look of total seriousness on her face.

"I don't intend to hurt your Daddy. I don't want to hurt you either." Zack tried to assure her. Nell seemed hesitant.

"Then why are you trying to leave in the middle of the night?" Nell asked, confused.

Zack took her little hands in his and looked into her chocolate brown eyes. "My Daddy is really sick. I need to go to the hospital so that I can be with him. You understand, don't you?"

After a moment, Nell nodded. "Make sure that you give him a big kiss and a hug. When Daddy kisses me or hugs me, it always makes my booboos feel better." Nell said.

Zack smiled at her childish innocence. "I'll be sure to do that, sweetie."

* * *

Zack arrived at the hospital a little while later. Except, when he came to the room that should have held his father, he found that it was vacant. It couldn't be… his father couldn't have died so soon, could he? And if he had, wouldn't the doctor have called him? This didn't make sense. _None _of this made sense. Zack walked a little further into the room and nearly leaped out of his skin when the door slammed closed behind him.

All of a sudden, he was overwhelmed by the scent of perfume. He turned around quickly and came face to face with Eve, the woman who had once held his affection and the same woman that had broken his heart. She walked around him slowly, a sly smile on her face. All at once, Zack realized that she had orchestrated this entire thing. His father never had a heart attack. That doctor probably wasn't even a doctor. It was all a lie.

"Well, Zack. You don't look like you're happy to see me. Not at all." Eve 'tsked'. She continued to circle around Zack. "We're all alone now. What do you say that we make the best of it?"

"I say, no thanks. I have a man that I am very much in love with that I would like to return to." Zack said, before he started to walk toward the door.

Eve shook her head, brown curls tumbling over her shoulders. "Poor, naïve Zack. If you so much as _breathe_ on that door, than Kane will never see his precious baby girl again."


	19. R is for Retrospect

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, other than Nell.  
**Rated:** M  
**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Violence, Cruelty

* * *

Kane rolled over in bed and scowled. He could've sworn that, when he closed his eyes, there had been someone there. He squeezed his eyes closed and tried to force himself to wake-up. Even if his mind wanted to wake-up, his body was a different matter. Over the last few weeks, he had traveled over several hundred miles and had had several hard matches. To be frank, his body was exhausted.

However, his curiosity won out in the end. He rolled out of bed and stretched. His back cracked loudly and he scowled when a few flares of pain shot down his back. Really, why did he have to get older? It sucked, royally. He wandered into the en-suite bathroom for his Tylenol. He didn't like to carry medication that was more powerful than Tylenol because he worried that Nell would find it and take it.

He took two Tylenol and looked at the clock. It was 7:00 AM. That was the normal time that he would wake up. Kane walked back into the bedroom and dressed quickly, before he looked over at Nell. The tiny child was stretched out on her little bed, her red curls fanned out all over her face. She truly was his angel. Even if Lita had hurt him so terribly, Nell was the light of his life. He didn't know what he would do without her.

"Nell, sweetheart." Kane rumbled. The child shifted and mumbled softly. Kane smiled and lifted Nell out of her bed and into his arms. "Nell, baby. It's time to wake-up."

Nell cuddled down into Kane's arms and squeezed her eyes shut firmly. "No. Nell doesn't wanna wake-up." She slurred. Slowly, she started to fall back asleep in his arms.

"Sweetie, you don't have much of a choice. We have to catch a plane." Kane told her.

Nell stretched out in his arms. "Carry me, Daddy."

Kane rolled his eyes. "Now, you know that I can't do that Cornelia. I have to carry my suitcases and you have to roll your Barbie suitcase. You don't want to leave your Barbie dolls behind, huh?"

"Barbies?" Suddenly, Nell was wide-awake. She started to squirm in Kane's arms. "Down, Daddy! Down!"

Kane chuckled. "Okay, sweetie. Your dress is on the end of the bed. And your Barbies… well, they're all over the place." But Kane didn't really need to tell her that, because she was already hunting down all her dolls.

But then, Nell stopped. She tilted her head to the side in adorable confusion. The doll that she had in her hand fell down onto the floor with a soft _thud_. Kane wondered what the problem was. However, as it turned out, he wouldn't have to wait long. Nell raced over to him and threw herself at his leg. He stumbled back a bit, not prepared for the tiny bundle to attack him like that. Slowly, he reached down and lifted her into his arms.

Nell put her little hand onto his face. That was when Kane remembered that he didn't have his mask on. His mask sat on the bedside table, untouched. He froze, extremely uncomfortable as her little hand smoothed over the contours of his face. Silently, he reminded himself that she had never seen it before. It would traumatize her if he yanked back and wouldn't allow her to touch his face.

Nell smiled at him. "Daddy doesn't have his mask on." She leaned forward and planted a wet kiss onto his uncovered cheek. "Daddy is very handsome."

Kane blinked at her in shock. "You're not…scared? You don't think that I'm a monster?"

Nell's smile fell. "You not a monster. You my Daddy." Nell said. "Who called you monster? I beat them up for you."

Kane chuckled at that. "I have no doubt that you would, sweetie. You would win, too." He could imagine Nell biting Michael Cole's hand when he went to stroke her curls. That would be a Kodak moment.

"I glad that you took your mask off, Daddy. I like to look at Daddy's face." Nell told him honestly. She started to look around as she suddenly remembered Zack. "Where is Zack?"

Kane frowned. "I don't know. Maybe he left already." And then, Kane tickled the four-year-olds stomach. She giggled and kicked her little legs. "That reminds me, you have to clean up all of your dolls."

Kane set Nell down on the floor and she beamed up at him. "Yes sir!"

* * *

"Why would you do that to him? Do you realize how much that child means to him? She _is_ his life. He wakes up every day because he loves her and he wants her to have the life that he was cheated out of." Zack said.

Eve looked at him disinterestedly. "That would make for a nice sob story if he ever wrote a book, wouldn't it?" Eve bit out sarcastically. "Look, I don't even care about Kane and the little brat."

"If you don't care about them, then why have you done this?" Zack asked her.

Eve rolled her eyes as she picked at her nails. "I have to hold up my end of the deal with Lita, of course."

Zack narrowed his eyes at him. "You've made a deal with Kane's ex-wife? What the hell could she want?" A pause. "You're helping her to take Kane's _child_ from him?"

"When you say it like that, you make it sound so… evil." Eve shivered, before she broke out in a wide smile.

"That's because it _is_ evil!" Zack exclaimed. He couldn't believe this.

"Is it so wrong that a mother wants to be with her child? That she doesn't trust a monster with said child?"

Zack nodded fluently. "Yes! Yes, there is something _very_ wrong with that! She hasn't showed any interest in that child for four years, and now, all of a sudden, she wants her back? It doesn't make any sense."

"Oh, and Kane _has_?" Eve asked, one eyebrow raised. "Then, how come nobody ever knew that he _had_ a child until recently when she became lost in the arena? She would've never gotten lost if he had asked someone to watch her."

"How could he ask someone to watch her if everyone is so set on believing that he is a monster?" Zack exclaimed. "He's not a monster and he loves that child _so_ much. If you take her away, you take away his life."

"Monsters don't deserve to be happy." Eve mumbled underneath her breath.

"Bitches and sluts like you and Lita don't deserve to be happy." Zack countered. "You can't seem to get it through your thick skull that Kane and I are happy. You think that you have the right to ruin it."

But Eve hadn't really listened to him. She blew on her nails and brushed off all of the nail particles that had been left behind. And then, she took out her nail clippers and walked over to Zack until she had him cornered by the far wall. She closed the clippers so that they had a sharp point on the end and jammed them into the wall beside Zack's head. Zack breathed heavily – the fact that the clippers were only a few centimeters from his head was not unnoticed.

And then, Eve started to chuckle darkly. It took a little bit of force, but she was able to yank the clippers out of the wall and slipped them back into her pocket. Zack fought to control his breathing as he looked at the impressive crack in the wall from the clippers. Was it hard to believe that he had just had a mini heart attack? He didn't want to think about the fact that if that had been his neck, he would be dead.

"Don't _ever_ call me a bitch or a slut." Eve warned him lowly, but with a distressing smile on her face. "Or you won't live to regret it. Do you understand me, Ryder?"

Zack was barely able to nod. He was too terrified to speak.

* * *

Lita wandered through the airport. She had been told in good faith that this would be the airport that Kane would use to head to the next location for Raw. She scanned the turnstiles and the different checkpoints, looking for the telltale red mask or the red curls that would show her where Kane and Nell where. It took her a minute, but she was finally able to locate them in a mess of different WWE Superstars and Divas. Perfect.

Lita slid her sunglasses down over her face. She made sure that none of the other Superstars or Divas would be able to recognize her, before she snaked around the side of them and quickly singled out Nell. In all of the flurry of people, her absence wasn't even noticed. Nell started to scream, but Lita put a hand over her face and held her in such a way that she couldn't flail her little body out. Once she had her secured, she walked out of the airport.

The entire scene went unnoticed in the mass commotion of everyday life at the airport.

* * *

"You okay down there, Nell? You've been awfully quiet." Kane looked down and almost had a heart attack when he realized that his baby wasn't down there beside him.

His eyes widened and he turned around, frantically searching all of the other stars and quickly discovering that Nell was nowhere to be seen. His blackened heart hammered like mad in his chest as he broke away from the other WWE stars and saw the vast sea of people out at the checkpoints. And there, in the middle of it all, was Nell's suitcase with all of her dolls. It had fallen and it laid there now, abandoned.

Kane rushed over to one of the security guards. She was a small woman who was checking a man who had failed to make it through the metal detector twice. When she cleared him, she turned her attention to Kane. Kane fumbled with his wallet and showed her a picture of Nell. It had been taken a few months earlier, but it still looked close enough to what she looked like now to make a decent match.

"Have you seen her?" Kane asked. "She's four-years-old and she wouldn't leave me on her own. Her suitcase was in the middle of the airport, abandoned. Please, you have to help me."

She nodded. "What is her name, sir?" Kane told her that her name was Cornelia Jacobs. "When was the last time that you saw her?" She asked.

"The last time I saw her? We were on our way to the gate to make it to our flight." Kane said.

"Are you her father?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Is her mother in the picture?"

Kane shook his head. "No. We've been divorced for four years now."

"Okay. We'll file a missing child's report. However, there is a significant chance that the kidnapper has already taken her out of the airport. If that is the case, you will have to wait twenty-four hours to report her missing." She said.

"What?" Kane exclaimed. "In twenty-four hours the person who took her could be halfway across the world! Or my child could be dead! Why do I have to wait twenty-four hours?"

"In case she is a run-away." The woman said. "In most cases, run-away's realize that life is much better at home and they find their way back home."

"She's four-years-old! Why would she run away from home?" Kane asked.

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"

And then Kane remembered that she had seen his face without the mask on earlier. Maybe she had lied when she told him that she wasn't afraid of him. Maybe she was terrified and just too scared to tell him. That made his heart hurt. It killed him inside to think that his baby was too afraid to tell him how she really felt. Kane sighed as he was led to the security office, where he would wait for word if they had found Nell or not.

"Nell…" he whispered under his breath as tears started to form in his eyes.


	20. S is for Serpentine

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone.  
**Rated:** M  
**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Kidnapping, etc.

* * *

As it turned out, whoever had taken Nell had vanished with her. After security had searched the entire area, they determined that whoever had taken Nell had either left or had boarded one of the planes. Kane was totally despondent. He couldn't believe that someone would want to take his precious baby from him. She was all that he had left and he didn't know what he would do without her.

And, now that he thought about it, he wondered what had happened to The Broski, Zack Ryder. At first, he had believed that he had already left for their next destination, but nobody had seen him and now, the plane had left. Kane was extremely worried. Well, 'worry' didn't really suit Kane. He was frustrated with himself because he felt that emotion that he didn't care for, but there wasn't much that he could do about it.

Finally, Kane decided to throw caution to the wind. He didn't care if the security officer said that he had to wait 'twenty-four hours' until he could report Nell missing. By the time that the twenty-four hour period was over, whoever had taken Nell could be out of the state and well on their way to leaving the country. Kane drove himself down to the police station, soaring past the other cars and cutting off drivers left and right. He didn't really care.

He stormed into the station and slammed his hands down on the front desk. "I need help. Someone has taken my child and you're the last people that I can turn too."

"Okay, sir." The woman smiled at him, which caused Kane to frown. Really, why would she smile at him when his baby was out there and she could be in danger? "What is your name?"

Kane rolled his eyes. Why did he even have to bother with the formalities? "Glen Jacobs."

"Okay, Mr. Jacobs. Head back to Interrogation Room Three. Officer Kelley will be there waiting for you." The woman said, before she called Officer Kelley over the intercom.

Kane breathed a sigh of relief. He was extremely thankful that _someone_ would at least _try_ to help him save his baby. That was all that he wanted. Someone to try. Someone to care. Why did compassion seem like such a precious, rare commodity nowadays? Kane shook his head. He followed the woman's careful instructions and quickly found the room that she had said. He walked inside and found Officer Kelley.

"Hello, Mr. Jacobs. You can sit down at the table and I will be there in a minute." Kane took a seat at the table and waited. "Okay, you say that your daughter is missing. When was the last time that you saw her?"

Kane looked at her blankly. "I was at the airport with her. We were about to get on the plane, but when I turned around, she had vanished. All that was left was her little Barbie suitcase."

"And they searched the airport for her?" Officer Kelley asked.

Kane's eyes widened in shock. "Of course they searched the airport for her already!"

"Please calm down, Mr. Jacobs. I only need to know the facts so that I can search for your daughter more efficiently." Officer Kelley told him. "Now, can I have the physical description of her?"

"She's four-years-old. She has curly red hair and dark brown eyes. She's about this tall." Kane showed how tall she would be if her feet were on the floor. "She has a very pale complexion and she's very frail-looking."

"Do you have any idea who would want to take her?" Officer Kelley asked.

Kane shook his head. "I have no idea."

Officer Kelley nodded slowly. "Okay. So, I will take this information and we will issue an amber alert. Basically, if she is still within the state, this will make it easier to find her. Do you intend to leave the state soon?"

"I have to leave the state for work." Kane said slowly.

"Okay, then. We will call you to inform you if any news comes in. I would tell you not to worry, but I know that you will anyway. It is the nature of any parent." Officer Kelley said. "Most likely, her mother took her. You said that she and the child were estranged, correct?"

"Yes." Kane nodded. "She left shortly after Nell was born. She didn't want to put up with me and she said that any child we had together would be hideous." Kane mumbled underneath his breath.

"I'll have another officer look into her mother as well. Thank you for your report, Mr. Jacobs. We will get back to you as soon as possible." Officer Kelley shook his hand, before she dismissed him.

He couldn't believe that Lita would try and take their baby from him. How could she be so cruel? She had told him that she didn't want the child, that he could have full custody of her from the moment that she was born, and now all of a sudden she came back into their lives and took her from him? It didn't make any sense. Lita had never wanted Nell before, so why did she want her now? Just to hurt Kane?

Kane shook his head as he walked out of the police station and out into the world. He really didn't want to travel to the next destination. He wanted to stay here and wait to find out if Nell was found. But he was already on rocky soil with Vince McMahon from his many attacks on Zack Ryder and his more recent attacks that centered on announcers like Josh Mathews. In other words, he didn't have much of a choice.

"I'm sorry, baby." Kane murmured as he climbed into his car and drove off back toward the airport. "I'm sorry that I didn't look out for you better. But once I find you, I'll never let you out of my sight again."

* * *

Lita took her hand off of Nell's mouth and immediately thereafter, Nell screamed. "Would you shut up, you little bitch? If you scream any louder you'll blow our cover."

Lita put a hand over Nell's mouth again, but Nell bit her this time. She bit her so hard that she drew blood. When Lita released her again, she ran away and put some distance between them. "I want my Daddy!"

Lita rolled her eyes. "The little bitch…" she mumbled as she looked down at her bloodied hand. "Wouldn't you rather be with your Mommy, sweetie? I love you so much more than that monster ever could."

"You were the one that called him a monster?" Nell's eyes widened slowly as realization overcame her.

"He is a monster, baby. You have to believe me. I would never lie to you!" Lita exclaimed. Nell turned her back on her and started to run, but Lita was faster. She scooped Nell into her arms and scowled at her.

"Put me down! I wanna go down!" Nell screamed, until finally, Lita dropped her on all fours.

Lita slapped Nell across the face and yanked her head back by her pretty crimson curls. Her chocolate eyes were distorted by her tears. "Cornelia Jacobs – you _never_ walk away from me when I'm talking to you!"

"You're hurting me, Mommy..." Nell trialed off as she squeezed her eyes closed and tried to mask the pain.

"Shut up!" Lita ordered. She scooped the red-haired child into her arms and carried her off toward the car. "Shut up and stay still. We have a flight to catch."


	21. T is for The Truth

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, other than Nell.  
**Rated:** M  
**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Violence, Cruelty, Child Abuse

* * *

Zack trembled as he walked around the bed. Fear caused every muscle in his body to become tense and he could barely move, but he continued to circle around to try and put some distance between himself and Eve. Since her earlier threat, Eve had calmed down considerably. Her attention had focused back on her nails, but Zack didn't think for one second that she didn't know his exact location at all times.

Hesitantly, Zack looked out the window. He wondered what would happen if he threw himself out the window at that moment. At least that way he would die of cardiac arrest, fast and painless, before Eve could stab him with those nail clippers. Just the idea of it made him sick. And, the entire time, he could envision Eve's evil smile as she watched him bleed out. He trembled and moved closer to his destination.

Quickly, before she could distract him, he hit the call button with as much force as he could muster. Unfortunately, Eve noticed the movement. "What did you just do?"

Zack's eyes widened and he tried to think fast, but his mind drew a total blank. "Nothing. I didn't do a thing. What makes you think that I did something?" He rambled on nervously.

"You only ramble when you're nervous, and the only reason that you would have to be nervous is if you're lying to me." Eve reasoned slowly. She started to walk over to him. "Tell me, Zackie."

Zack swallowed harshly. "I really have no idea what you're talking about."

Eve just shook her head. "I'm disappointed, Zack. I would have thought that you were a better liar."

Terrified, Zack took a few steps back as Eve continued to advance on him. However, all too soon, she had backed him into a corner. He hit the wall hard and swallowed audibly. His stomach turned and he worried that he would be sick. But Eve had discarded her nail clippers on the bed and was now slowly unbuttoning her shirt. When her cleavage was revealed, she pulled her shirt away to reveal her lacy bra. Zack tried to look away.

But he cracked under the pressure and his eyes flickered downward unintentionally. Eve smirked – she knew that the minute he laid eyes on her body, she had him in her clutches and she wasn't about to release him. She reached out and took hold of Zack's wrist, pulling his hand forward and putting his hand on her breast. A dark flush came over Zack's cheeks and he closed his eyes. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to do this…

"Why are you so hesitant, Zack? I know that you want me." Eve trailed off seductively. She pushed her bosom forward a little bit and pushed more of her breasts into Zack's hand.

"You're wrong." Zack shook his head fiercely. "I don't want this. I don't want you. I'm in love with Kane and he's the only one that I want to be with. Why can't you understand that?"

Eve narrowed her chocolate brown eyes at him. "If you're so sure that he's what you want, why can't you tell me that to my face?"

Zack opened his eyes and looked at her firmly. "I love Kane and I don't want to do this. Please, don't force me."

Eve frowned. She ground her hips down against his. "Well, at least _one_ part of your anatomy wants me."

"Please, don't make me do this, Eve. If you let me leave now, I'll never say a word to anyone -,"

"Do you really think that I'm that stupid?" Eve cut him off. "I know that that is all a lie."

Zack shook his head, desperate to convince her that this was the truth. "No. You're not stupid. And you have every right to doubt me. But I'm not in the business of lying to people."

But Eve wasn't listening to him anymore. She took hold of him forcefully and threw him down onto the bed. He coughed as he bounced up and down, Eve quickly climbing on top of him. It didn't take him long to remember that Eve had recently discarded the nail clippers on the bed. He felt around for them clumsily and was easily able to locate them underneath his leg. Eve busied herself with the buttons on his shirt.

It took him a minute to work up the nerve to actually do it. He had never hurt a woman before, be it physically or mentally. The closest that he had ever come was when he had been forced to break up with his first (and only) girlfriend the week before prom because he had to move to Long Island. But as Eve took off his shirt and started to work on his pants, he knew that this would be the only way that he would escape this unscathed.

He forced his hand forward and jammed the clippers into her shoulder as far down as they would go. Eve screamed out in pain, looking down at the bloodied mess that was her shoulder. Her chocolate eyes flickered back to Zack in shock. How could he do this to her? He was supposed to love her, damn it! Zack hurriedly climbed off of the bed and dressed himself. He needed to find Kane as soon as possible.

He almost made it to the door, before Eve started to scowl at him. "You can't just leave me here to die! You love me, Zack! You can't just desert me!"

"I asked you to stop and you didn't. If anything, you never loved me." Zack said. "You shouldn't have tried to force me. And from now on, you deserve everything that comes your way… bitch."

"But… but what if I bleed to death?" Eve asked. She sounded scared now.

"You're in a hospital, sweetie. Suck it up." And with that, he walked out the door.


	22. U is for Universal

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, other than Nell.  
**Rated:** M  
**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Violence, Cruelty, Child Abuse, etc.

* * *

Zack knew exactly where he needed to be. It was exactly where he needed to be from the start, but he had either been too blind or too scared to realize it. He needed to be with Kane. If Eve's information could be trusted, that meant that Nell had already been taken from Kane and that Kane would be an emotional and physical wreck. Zack needed to be there for him to ensure that he didn't make a choice that would backfire on him later.

First off, however, he needed a phone. He ran out of the hospital and the first phone he came to (which was about a half mile away), he used to dial Kane's cell phone. Zack didn't know what had happened to his own phone, but right now, he didn't have time to think about that. There really was no time to waste if Nell was in danger. He waited for what seemed like forever for the monster to answer, and when he did, he sounded like a bear out of hibernation.

_"What?"_ Kane growled. Zack couldn't help but flinch. Even if he had seen a different side of Kane in the last few weeks, the man still scared the shit out of him sometimes.

"Kane, its Zack. Listen, I don't have much time to talk. But I need to tell you that I know who took Nell." Zack told him hurriedly. He heard a soft _whoosh_ of fabric and knew that he had Kane's attention now.

_"What the fuck?"_ Kane growled lowly. _"You're not even here. You abandoned me in the middle of the night. What makes you think that I will believe you when you tell me that you know where my daughter is?"_

Zack's eyes widened. He couldn't believe that Kane would treat him like he didn't even care about Nell! "Kane, I really care about Nell. I love her and I love you – I only want to help you, but I can only do that if you let me."

Kane sighed. The resolution that he really had no other choice hit him between the eyes like a speeding bullet. _"What do you have to tell me?"_ Kane growled.

"I think that Lita has her." Zack told him.

_"You 'think'?"_ Kane put emphasis on the word 'think'. This wasn't really a 'guess, check, and revise' situation.

"I know. Kane, trust me on this. I'll explain the rest later." Zack assured him.

All that Kane said was a mumbled, _"You better be right."_ He hung up the phone and Zack was left with a dial tone. He shook off the sharp slap of rejection and knew that it was for the best. It had to be.

Zack knew that the WWE was currently on its way to Chicago, so he pulled out his wallet (he was thankful that Eve hadn't tried to take _that_ off of him) and checked how much money he had. He had about three hundred dollars. That would be enough to purchase him a ticket. And then, at least, he would be with Kane. He raced back to the hospital and was able to locate his car. Once inside, he typed the location of the airport into the GPS.

The 'Bitch in the Box' as he liked to call her, directed him out of the lot and to take the first left. He did exactly as she said. He was on a mission and he wasn't about to be distracted. He needed to be there for Kane and he knew that, even if Kane didn't think that he wanted him there, it would help to have someone at his side. And Zack was more than happy to be Kane's scapegoat until Nell was back in his arms…

* * *

Kane took hold of Matt's neck and slammed him back into the wall, watching with sick satisfaction as the younger man twitched and shifted around uncomfortably. Kane's older brother, Mark, stood in the background, toying with the leather gloves that had become customary to his in-ring attire. While Kane and Mark weren't exactly known for being the best of friends, where their kids were concerned, well… that was an entirely different can of worms.

Mark stalked over to them slowly, his face eerily blank. Matt felt all of the blood drain out of his face and the air in his lungs was constricted, but a rush of adrenaline hit him full-force when Mark hit him in the face with a right-jab so powerful that he tasted his own blood. The room span around him in violent circles and Matt was sure that he was about to puke, but no, there was more to come. A knee to the stomach and he spat out the blood in his mouth.

An elbow to the side of the neck. A punch to his mouth that split his lip open and caused blood to spew down his face. A knee of the ribs. Smashing his face into the wall, fingers clasped so tightly in his hair that he was afraid that it would be torn out by the root. Why the hell was this happening? What the hell had he done to these two men to warrant such punishment? And then, all of a sudden, Kane and Mark dropped him and he fell several feet to the floor.

"Now," Kane loomed over him, put one foot on his stomach, and pressed down just enough to make him start to wheeze, "You will tell me where that bitch took my baby. If you don't, well…"

Kane stomped down with the full weight of his three-hundred-plus pound frame and Matt started to cough violently. There was too much blood in his throat and he couldn't breathe. "P-Please…"

Kane eased off. "Tell me where she is, _now_!" Mark came around and rolled his foot onto its side, before he stomped on the ankle and caused white-hot shots of pain to course up and down the man's body.

"I think that it would be best to listen to Kane when he talks to you." Mark told him nonchalantly. "He hasn't always been known to play well with others."

Matt licked his dry, chapped lips. "I honestly don't know. Please, just let me up and I'll call her. We can -,"

Kane pressed down on his chest and Matt started to cough. Mark kicked his other ankle. "Not good enough!"

"P-P-Please, ugh…" Matt gargled as too much blood filled his throat and he started to choke.

Mark patted Kane's back. "Now would be the time that you want to ease up. You want answers; you don't want to kill him." Mark told him, a dour look on his face.

"Whoever said that I didn't want to kill him?" Kane hissed brutally. Mark leveled him with a stare and Kane relented, because, deep down, he was still the obedient little brother and he couldn't disrespect Mark like that.

Kane lifted Matt by the hair and yanked him to his feet. Matt was still gargling on his own blood, his face turning an uncomfortable shade of white. Kane smacked him on the back and Matt spluttered, before he was finally able to breathe normally. And then, fiercely, Kane threw him down by the coffee table and squatted down so that they were at eye level. Matt stared into the monster's eyes, into the abyss, and for the first time… there was emotion there.

Fear. It wasn't fear for the fact that he could have (and most likely _would_ have) killed Matt, no. Matt could see that he honestly didn't care about that. It was fear for the welfare of his child, the only child that he had. Matt knew what that felt like. Even if his own child hadn't been born yet, he was still worried about the unborn child every moment that Lita put his or her life in danger with this stupid plot. Matt bit down on the inside of his mouth.

When it really comes down to it, Kane is only a scared father who was willing to do anything and everything to make sure that his beloved daughter was safe. Matt could relate to that. And finally, his love for his unborn child outweighed the love that he held for Lita. Lita didn't have that child's best intentions at heart and she would hurt her before she helped her. God, Matt could only imagine how traumatized that poor baby was already.

"Okay, Okay… I'll tell you where she is. She said that she wanted to take her into California. From California, she wanted to take her out of the country. I don't know where from there." Matt confessed.

Kane narrowed his eyes at him. "You better be telling me the damn truth, because if you're not, I _will_ be back for you. And if you think that _this_ is bad, you are in for quite a shocker."


	23. V is for Verify

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, other than Nell.  
**Rated:** M  
**Warning(s):** Slash, Het, Cruelty, Violence, Child Abuse, etc.

* * *

A few hours later, Kane and Mark arrived in California. Mark had insisted that he come with, if only to ensure that Kane didn't accidentally (yeah, _accidentally_) kill Lita in his infuriation. Both men already knew their destination. Mark had called Trish Stratus, a close family friend and an enemy of Lita's, to confirm. Lita had rented a hotel room by the beach in the Metropolitan for the week. Kane and Mark had shared a look – they knew what they had to do.

Luckily, Kane hadn't had to threaten the boy behind the reception desk. Between his sheer size and the red-leather mask on his face, he was sure that the boy needed some new underwear anyway. Kane wasn't really in the mood to talk, and since Mark knew that if he did, it would most likely end in the evisceration of the boy, Mark explained to him in the simplest of terms that Kane's child was somewhere in the hotel with a red-haired slut.

The keys were thrown their way, before the boy ducked away to call the cops. Something about how child abductors needed to be prosecuted. Kane didn't really care. While he wasn't the kind of ever raise a hand to a woman, this… this took that to a whole different level. Lita had lowered herself to kidnapping her own child just to try and break Kane. But they would see who would walk away victorious…

Kane didn't bother with the key. Really, he only used it as a map to find the room that Lita was in. Once he arrived there, he kicked the door harshly and watched as it broke away without much of a hassle. Mark shot him a look, but didn't really comment. He knew how Kane could be when he was upset and he wasn't about to be the obstacle that stood in his way. Kane stormed into the room and immediately came face to face with Lita.

"Daddy!" Nell ran over to him, her beautiful red curls bouncing on her tiny little shoulders. She threw herself at Kane and Kane lifted her into his arms. "She hurt me, Daddy."

Kane's eyes widened behind his mask. Nell trembled as big, fat tears ran down her alabaster face. Slowly, Kane brushed the curls away from her face and saw the bruise on her cheek. "She _hit_ you?"

Nell sniffled and nodded. "It really hurt, Daddy. I don't like her." Nell wiped her teary eyes on her fists, careful to avoid the nasty-looking bruise on her cheek.

"Okay, sweetie. It's gonna be okay. I'm gonna hand you over to Uncle Mark and he'll make sure that the mean woman won't hurt you again. Won't he?" Kane looked at Mark, who nodded.

"C'mere, sweetie." Mark carefully peeled Nell out of Kane's arms and walked with her down the hall. "How about we buy some Skittles from the vending machine? I heard that they're your favorite."

And then, Kane turned his attention back to Lita. He was honestly at a loss for what he should do. To be totally honest, if he were to hold no secrets here, he wanted to kill her. She took his baby from him and she _hit_ her. She made Nell cry. No parent should _ever_ hit their child. And to think, all of this time, Lita had been the one who had insisted that _Kane_ was the unfit parent. He shook his head with disdain.

On the other hand, he knew that he _couldn't_ kill her. It would just prove her point. If he laid his hands on her in any way, if he harmed her, than he would prove just how much of an unfit parent that he was. Kane shook his head. No. He couldn't allow Lita to hold that kind of power over him. He loved Nell so much and he wasn't about to let Lita take her away from him, even if she were to be sent behind bars.

"You fucking bitch." Kane growled at her lowly, sounding more of the monster than ever. "You've showed your true colors. You've showed how much you really care about Nell. And now, you've most likely traumatized her for life."

Lita shook her head, that sick, sick smile on her face. "You think that _I'm_ the one who traumatized her? You're the monster. You're a hideous monster that deserves to be locked away so he can't haunt children's nightmares."

Kane closed his eyes against the pain that that comment brought with it. "If I remember correctly, she ran directly to me. The monster. She doesn't love you, Lita. She's afraid of you."

"She's not afraid of me; she just didn't have the chance to get to know me – no thanks to you." Lita hissed.

"I'm not the one who walked out on her seconds after she was born!" Kane tossed back.

Lita's eyes widened. For a minute, her mask cracked. But then, it reformed and she held her ground. "She needs her mother. I can love her and nurture her. All you can do is scare her because you are the Devil's Favorite Demon."

"You put your hands on _my_ baby. Maybe I'm not the only demon in the room." Kane hissed. "And I swear, the only reason I haven't torn into you is because of her. I love her too much to have her taken away from me."

"She'll never be able to love you. She'll hate you because you are a monster." Lita said.

"Shut your fucking mouth, _now_!" Kane roared.

Wisely, Lita did exactly as Kane ordered her to do. Kane took a breath to try and calm himself, because if he let his emotions run wild, then he would hurt Lita and both of them would end up behind bars. He couldn't do that to Nell. Hell, he couldn't do that to _himself._ What was left of his blackened heart had shattered the minute that he realized that Nell wasn't at his side and he was so afraid… so, so afraid. He hadn't known what to do.

At that exact moment, what was left of the door was busted in and the police came in to make their arrest of one Amy Dumas, otherwise known as Lita (which was the name that she had checked into the hotel under). Kane watched with satisfaction as the cuffs went around her wrists and she was slowly dragged toward the door. But then, he stopped one of the officers. There was still one more question that he felt needed to be asked.

"Why? Why would you do this to me? Why would you hurt Nell like that?" Kane asked solemnly. It seemed like all of the frustration had leaked out of his body and all that was left was exhaustion.

Lita looked him dead in the eyes and answered, "Because you don't deserve to be happy, and if she loves you, then neither does she."

* * *

Kane sat in his locker room, Nell on his lap, as he waited for his match. Ever since he had been cleared to take Nell out of California, Nell had refused to leave his side. It was understandable, but he had to confess that she was her own personal heater and he was sweating like he had contested a hard match before he had even been out in the ring. But none of that mattered, because Nell was safe and back in his arms.

The first thing that he had done when they had arrived in Chicago was buy her a pretty new teddy bear. She bounced the teddy bear on her lap and sang to it in a totally off-key voice that sounded so much like Mark in the shower that Kane had to chuckle. It reminded him of his childhood, before his parents had died and before Paul Bearer had brainwashed him into thinking that he was a monster. He loved his baby so much.

Kane leaned down and kissed the crown of her crimson curls, and Nell tilted her head back and smiled her toothy smile at him. The bruise on her cheek was still nasty. The police officers had insisted that he take pictures of it and send them in to the precinct to be used as evidence in the case against Lita. Kane hated to exploit his daughter like that, but if he wanted Lita to be behind bars for a long time… well, he didn't really have much of a choice.

There was a knock on the door. Kane didn't really want to talk to anyone, but when the knock came again, he knew that he didn't have too much of a choice. "Come in."

Zack entered the room bashfully and allowed his eyes to flicker from Kane to Nell, back and forth. He rubbed the back of his neck, before his eyes met Kane's. "We need to talk."


	24. W is for Welcoming

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, other than Nell.  
**Rated:** M  
**Warning(s): **Slash, etc.

* * *

Kane narrowed his eyes at Zack. "What do you mean 'we need to talk'? I don't think that we need to talk about anything. I needed you, you weren't there. It's all there in black and white."

Zack shook his head. "No, it's not. I just… I need to talk to you, alone." Zack motioned to Nell, who innocently toyed with the ears of her stuffed teddy bear. Kane looked down at her and shook his head.

"No. No way in hell." Kane immediately shot Zack down. "I only just got her back. I'm not about to let anyone take her away from me." Kane hissed as he held his baby protectively.

But Zack shook his head again. "Curt is outside in the hallway, waiting. He doesn't have a match tonight and he's great with kids, Kane. You've seen him with his daughter. You know that he would never hurt Nell."

"Yeah, well, I didn't think Lita would hurt Nell and look how well that turned out." Kane said angrily as he brushed Nell's curls away and showed Zack the nasty bruise on his baby's cheek.

"Kane – you have to trust me. I trust Curt and I know that he won't hurt her." Zack insisted. Kane looked him over uncertainly, not knowing what to do. Finally, he relented.

"Fine. He can have her." Kane handed Nell over to Zack, and the child protested mildly. "But if he so much as looks at her the wrong way, I will eviscerate him. Understood?"

Zack swallowed hard and nodded hurriedly. "Understood." He squeaked.

Zack carried her outside, before he returned a moment later. He looked around the room awkwardly, unsure if he should sit down or if he should continue to stand. Finally, Kane took his feet off of the couch and moved over to allow Zack to sit on the couch beside him. While Zack was thankful for that, he still tried his best to squeeze himself into the furthest part of the couch that he could. Kane studied him carefully, before he shook his head and looked elsewhere.

Zack tried to think of how he wanted to start. He loved Kane so much, he didn't want to lose him. But, at the same time, he understood that Kane felt abandoned in his time of need and he didn't know how to make that any better. Finally, Zack leaned forward and took hold of Kane's red-leather mask. He unlatched the straps behind Kane's head and let the mask fall away. Immediately, he was face-to-face with the man he loved.

And then, he closed the distance between them and locked their lips in a desperate kiss. In that one kiss, he tried to convey all of the love that he felt for Kane. He tried to show him how much he meant to him. He tried to convey that he had never meant to leave Kane or hurt him like that. Finally, desperate for air, he drew back and took a few gasping breaths for air. He leaned back on his haunches and waited for Kane to make the first move.

When Kane finally looked at him in the eyes, he saw how upset Kane really was by all of this. "Why did you leave? I mean… you could have at least told me, you didn't have to…" hesitant insecurity shined in his blue eyes.

"Shh, it's okay. I received a call in the middle of the night from the hospital. The doctor said that my father had a heart attack and that I really needed to be there for him. I couldn't say no." Zack told him honestly.

Kane looked away and it broke Zack's heart to see him so insecure, but at the same time, unable to voice his own insecurities. "You could have woken me. You didn't have to leave in the middle of the night."

Zack took hold of Kane's chin and turned his face so that he was forced to look in his eyes. "Where you scared?"

Kane's icy blue eyes widened. "What?"

"Were you scared? When you saw that I wasn't there, did you think that I had left you?"

Kane looked away, ashamed of his own answer.

Zack leaned forward and kissed him softly. He then stroked Kane's bald head and shuffled forward a little bit so that he could sit on Kane's lap. "I want you to know that I will _never_ leave you like that, but it's normal to be scared."

"Ha… normal. I've never been normal." Kane told him. But then, his facial features softened and he almost seemed _thankful_. "But… but t-thanks for that."

Zack chose not to linger on the fact that Kane had just thanked him, even if it was momentous. "But as it turned out, it was all a plot by Eve. She told me if I left, Nell would be hurt. _That_ was why I couldn't be there when you needed me."

Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen Eve around lately. Maybe it wasn't too hard to believe that Eve had something to do with this entire mess. Tentatively, Zack moved forward and bit and pushed Kane down onto the arm of the couch. Kane's hands slid around his waist, instinctively pulling the smaller man in closer. Right now, all they wanted, all they cared about, was being closer to each other. There was a desire that needed to be filled in them.

Slowly, Zack slid Kane out of his unitard, eyeing every inch of baby-oil slicked skin that was slowly revealed. Once he threw that to the side, he then took off Kane's boxers and his cup. When Kane was totally naked, Zack slid out of his own trunks and underwear, throwing them somewhere in the distance. They both needed this, almost as terribly as they needed to breathe. It wasn't even a need anymore. It was a necessity.

Zack took the baby oil out of his bag and used some of it to slick Kane's erection. And then, tossing the bottle aside, he laid down on his back and pulled Kane forward. There wasn't even enough time to prep him. Carefully, Kane leaned forward and pressed into Zack. Zack moaned and squirmed uncomfortably. He could feel his hole stretch to accommodate Kane's girth and he was almost certain that he felt himself tear, but none of that mattered.

Kane waited for a moment until he felt Zack tap his arm softly. That was his cue to start to move. He set a slow, even pace. Every time he bottomed out, the head of his cock slammed into Zack's prostate and caused the younger man to see stars. Zack writhed beneath him, loving the feel of Kane stretching him. Kane started to move faster. Zack's nails clawed into the monster's shoulders so hard that he drew blood.

And then, finally, Kane leaned down and bit the junction between Zack's neck and his shoulder. Stars danced in front of Zack's eyes and he arched up. His hard, leaking cock brushed against Kane's stomach and sent white-hot fire down his spine. And with that, he came. He clamped down on Kane's cock as the monster continued to pump into him, causing the monster to quickly meet him in the euphoria of completion.

Zack fell back and let out a low murmur as Kane pulled out of him and started to dress himself. "Where are you going?" He mumbled lowly, barely able to keep his eyes open. He was well-fucked and exhausted.

Kane looked at him with a hint of a smirk on his face. "I have a match next, in case you didn't remember. But… and you better listen up, because this is the only fucking time I'm gonna say it… I do owe you a thank you."

Zack blinked slowly, still coming down from his high. "For what?"

Kane squeezed his eyes closed as he tried to come to terms with what he wanted to say, what he _needed_ to say. "I _was_ scared that you had left me. But now that I know the truth…"

Zack looked at him, wide-eyed, and nodded dumbly. "I understand, Kane. You don't have to say anymore."

Kane looked him over once, before he nodded. "Good."


	25. X is for 'Time Jump'

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, other than Nell.  
**Rated:** M  
**Warning(s):** Slash, etc.

* * *

**One Year Later**

"Mommy!" Nell tore across the field, a look of innocent excitement on her five-year-old face as she ran toward Zack Ryder. Zack chuckled as he leaned back on the car, braced for the impact of one extremely happy child.

Nell hit him with a loud _thud_ and immediately started to climb up his lanky body. "Well, hello there, Baby Girl. I take it you missed me a little bit, huh?" Zack smiled down at her.

"I missed you this much!" Nell dropped down off of him and stretched her arms out as far as she possibly could. "I made lots of new friends, just like Mommy said that I would! And I even got a gold star! See! See!"

Zack's smile widened as she showed him the gold star on her notebook. "Well, I for one am extremely proud of you. And do you know what that means?"

Nell's chocolate brown eyes widened and she shook her head. "No…"

Zack leaned down so that he could whisper in her ear. "That means… ice cream."

Nell screamed so loud he was sure that she had shattered his ear drum. "Really, Mommy? Can I have whatever flavor I want, too?" Nell's sweet brown eyes focused in on his face.

"Of course. Is there any other way?" Zack tried to look affronted, but failed miserably.

So, Nell climbed into the backseat of Zack's car and the older man tucked in her car seat. He reached down onto the floor and retrieved one of her traveling companions, a stuffed lion with a fluffy yellow mane, and tucked it safely into her tiny little arms. Nell smiled at him thankfully. He kissed her forehead and she giggled, kicking her tiny little feet and smiling broader than he had ever seen. Once he was sure that she was all tucked in, he shut the door.

Zack and Nell were currently in Pennsylvania, which was where Nell went to school. Zack still worked for the WWE, but right now his career was going nowhere fast and he needed to take a break to reevaluate his situation. Kane, on the other hand, was on a promotional tour in India. Nell hadn't seen her Daddy in over two weeks and Zack could tell that she missed him terribly. Zack wished that he could bring him home, but there was still another week in the tour.

Zack decided that he would take her to Freddy Hill Farms for the ice cream. Over the time that he had known Nell, that seemed to be her favorite. She got a strawberry cone and a whole dispenser's worth of napkins, because Nell seemed to have the unfortunate habit of dumping all of her ice cream down herself _and_ Zack's car. Zack got a chocolate cone and both took their sweet treats back to the car, where they ate them on the way home.

When they pulled up outside of the house, true to her natural behavior, Nell had smeared the ice cream all over her face. "Mommy?" Zack made an affirmative noise. "Why is there another car outside the house?"

Zack took one look at the familiar car and felt his heart start to beat faster in his chest. Could it really be? "I don't know, sweetheart. We'll have to see, won't we?"

"But what if it is an evil beastie that's come to take over the world?" Nell asked, a hint of fear in her little voice.

Zack raised an eyebrow as he looked at Nell in the mirror. "You've been spending _way_ too much time with Uncle Curt and Uncle Tyler, haven't you?"

Nell titled her head to the side innocently. "What?"

Zack shook his head. "Never mind. We should get inside before all of that sugar dries on your face."

"Bath time?" Nell's eyes widened. "Can I have Ms. Ducky too?" Zack could've sworn that Nell was the only child that was actually _excited_ to take a bath.

"Yeah. You can have your whole collection of duckies." It would probably take over the entire bathtub, but if it would make her happy, then….

Zack cut the engine and came around, carefully releasing Nell from her car seat and carrying her inside. He would come back later for her back pack. But they didn't even make it inside the door before she let out an otherworldly scream. Seriously, if screaming was an Olympic sport, than this child deserved the gold medal. However, the reason that she had screamed was currently sitting at the kitchen table, a small smirk on his face.

Nell weaseled out of Zack's arms and threw herself at Kane, giggling cutely as Kane swung her up so that she sat on his lap. She had missed her Daddy so much, and now he was home. She didn't even remember the fact that he wasn't supposed to be back until next week. That didn't matter to her. All that mattered was that she had her Mommy and her Daddy, and that they had each other.

"Hey there, Baby Girl." Kane cooed at her. "I see that you had some ice cream. Did Mommy teach you how to wear it instead of eat it?" Kane 'tsked'. "Bad, bad Mommy. Right Baby?"

Nell giggled. "Yeah. Bad Mommy." But then, she crawled up and whispered something into Kane's ear. The monster's icy blue eyes widened and he fixed them on Zack, who looked back at him nervously.

Kane looked back at Nell. "Is that true, Cornelia?"

Nell nodded proudly, like she had just done them both a huge service. "Yep."

"Well, then, we'll just have to fix that, won't we?" Kane asked.

Nell nodded. "But first, can we have more ice cream?"

Kane had to wonder if the only thing that Zack had fed the child was ice cream. "How about this? You have some dinner, and then I will personally make you a strawberry sundae. How does that sound?"

Nell broke out into a broad smile. "Okay!" She cheered. Immediately, she raced into the kitchen to try and decide what she wanted to have for dinner.

Several hours later, Nell was tucked into bed and lost in her own little dreamland. All of the sweetness had been washed off of her face and she had been dressed in her brand-new Barbie themed pajamas. To be totally honest, she looked adorable. Kane and Zack had retired to their own bedroom down the hall, Zack curled into the monster's chest for the first time in two weeks. Both men stared at the other and waited for the other to speak.

For some reason, Zack felt the most annoying little tears spring into his eyes. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't send them away. Kane watched as they bubbled to the surface and eventually boiled over, streaking down his cheeks and revealing just how much he had missed his lover in the last two and a half weeks. He needed Kane like he needed air and when he had left, it felt like all of the air had been vacuumed out of his chest.

With a calm, almost gentle hand, Kane reached up and stroked his cheeks, sending all of the tears away. The tears had no room on a face as beautiful as his. Taking Zack's face in his hands, he leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. He tried his best to quell all of the fears that brewed within his lover, but he knew that this was a difficult task. Zack had many deeply-rooted fears, which Kane had created, that would take several years to heal entirely.

"Do you want to know what Nell told me?" Kane whispered into Zack's ear. His voice was low and sensual, the soft buzz of it so comforting and yet, strangely erotic at the same time.

Zack blinked, trying to force himself out of his stupor. Finally, he was able to nod. "What did she tell you?"

"She told me that the night that I left, you cried. Is that true, Zack? Did you cry over me?" Kane asked softly. His eyes locked with Zack's and never released him, never left a shadow of a doubt between them.

Zack felt a dark flush come over his cheeks as he looked away, embarrassed at himself over the truth… and embarrassed that he had been so weak as to let a five-year-old child who felt as badly as he did see him so weak.

Kane continued to stare into Zack's eyes. "Weren't you the one who told me that it was 'okay' to be scared?"

Zack blinked. "But I wasn't…"

"I know, I know… you weren't scared, you were just bawling your eyes out because the Yankees lost. If that's what you want to believe, go ahead. But, just so you know…"

Here, Kane leaned in so that their foreheads were brushing.

"I love you, Zack. And I'm not going anywhere."


	26. Y is for Yes!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, other than Nell.  
**Rated:** M  
**Warning(s):** Slash, etc.

* * *

"Nell, could you hand me one of the candles from the cabinet?" Kane asked the five-year-old, who had seated herself comfortably on his shoulders. She nodded and leaned forward, pulling the cabinet door open and reaching inside.

"Is this the one that you wanted, Daddy?" She held out a long, white candle in her chubby little fist. Kane nodded and smiled. "It smells funny. Kinda like that strawberry cream that Mommy has in his bedside table."

Kane almost choked on the air. His face turned a desperate shade of cherry red and he wasn't sure whether he should burst out laughing or hide his head in shame. "And how would you know about the strawberry cream, Nell?"

"'Cause we was playin' hide and seek." Nell said matter-of-factly. "I went took look for him in the bedroom, and I wanted to make sure that I checked everywhere, so I looked in the drawers too. Just in case."

Kane thanked his lucky stars that she didn't know what 'lube' meant, and that she was firmly convinced that it was body lotion. "You really think that Zack could fit into a drawer like that? Wouldn't it be awfully uncomfortable?"

"Nah," Nell shook her head with conviction. "Mommy's awfully flexible. Didn't you know that?"

Kane licked his chapped lips and tried to maintain his composure. "No. Guess I never thought of it like that."

"Oh! I know what else Mommy will like!" Nell exclaimed, before she steered her Daddy toward the freezer.

She opened the freezer and took out one of the containers of Edy's chocolate ice cream. "Ice cream? Really, Nell?"

Nell nodded. "Of course. Mommy _always_ buys me ice cream when I do something special. And what could be more special than that?" Nell motioned to the ring in her Daddy's pocket.

"Nell's own special touch. Chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, steamed vegetables, and ice cream." Kane could barely contain a small chuckle. "He'll love it."

"Good." Nell smiled, before she slithered down to the floor. "When will Uncle Mark be here?"

Kane looked at the clock. "He's still about fifteen minutes away, sweetie. But why don't you do Daddy a favor and go wake up Mommy. Can you do that for me?"

Nell nodded excitedly, before she ran off to do as she had been told. Kane smiled as he watched her run off. It still hurt to think that that had almost been taken away from him. For what Lita had done to him, she deserved to rot in hell. But the punishment that she received was a close second. She had received life behind bars without the possibility of parole, but when she had pled insanity, she had been sentenced to life in a mental institution.

Shortly thereafter, her son had been born. Immediately, Matt had been granted full custody. He had sold their old house and moved far, far away from all of the memories. Lita didn't even have a chance to name her baby, and if justice came through, she would never have a chance to hurt that baby the way that she had hurt Nell. Kane could only be thankful that Nell didn't remember that horrific week where Lita had kidnapped her.

Nell raced down the hall. She would know the way to the bedroom that her Mommy and Daddy shared even if she was blindfolded. It was where she always went when she would have a bad dream, and Zack would hold her while Kane told her that everything was gonna be okay. And even when she _wasn't_ scared, she would spend time with Zack doing her homework on the bed. It was also where he would teach her how to read.

The five-year-old charged at the bed and threw herself next to Zack, bouncing up and down, her heart throbbing against her rib cage with her excitement. Zack's eyes snapped open and he was immediately alert, scared out of his wits by the sudden assault on the bed. Nell climbed over onto Zack's stomach and laid her fluffy red head onto his chest. Zack smiled, calming almost instantly, and stroked her soft curls.

"Mommy," Nell cooed. "Daddy wants you to come downstairs. He has a surprise for you." And then, just because she had to throw a little bit of self-promotion in, "And I helped him do it."

"Well, then." Zack rolled over and watched as Nell plopped down onto the bed, chuckling softly. "I shouldn't keep him waiting, then. Do you want to escort me downstairs?"

Nell blinked at him, before she stretched her little arms out. "Don't you want to carry me, Mommy?"

"You're spoiled rotten, aren't you?" Zack shook his head, before he scooped Nell into his arms.

"Forward!" Nell cried out cutely.

Zack rolled his eyes, before he started out the door and walked downstairs. When he arrived at the kitchen, Mark was there waiting for Nell. Nell slithered out of Zack's arms and raced over to her uncle, who led her outside to his car. Kane had called him earlier to tell him that Nell wanted to see that new Barbie movie that had recently come out. Mark couldn't believe that Kane would force him through that, but he finally relented and agreed.

Zack continued to walk out into the dining room, and when he arrived, his heart stopped in his chest and he felt like he couldn't breathe. There were two candles that were lit in the middle of the table. A fancy white tablecloth was spread over the wooden surface, and food spread from end to end as far as his eye could see. But that wasn't what had his attention. Kane was dressed in nice slacks and a button down shirt, and his mask had been discarded.

"Is all of this for me?" Zack squeaked out. He cursed himself for his nervousness, but Kane had never been this open about how he felt, and he had certainly never set a dinner out for him like this.

"Who else would it be for?" Kane asked, but Zack could tell that it was a rhetorical question. "C'mon, take a seat. I actually cooked and didn't burn the house down. You wouldn't want to waste that, would you?"

Zack smirked evilly. "Sometimes I wonder how you ever survived without me."

Kane nonchalantly tossed back, "I've wondered that for awhile now too."

Zack took a bite of the food and, seconds later, his eyes widened considerably. "Holy… this is absolutely delicious, Kane! Who knew that you could actually cook?"

Kane's eyebrow twitched as he tried to keep his annoyance level down to a minimum. It wouldn't do to let his anger management issues ruin the good thing that he had now. "Ha. Very funny, smart-ass."

"Are you okay, Kane?" Zack looked at him uncertainly.

Kane nodded distractedly. He took a bite of his food and washed it down with the wine. "'M fine."

A comfortable silence fell over them as they finished the food that Kane had prepared for them. Zack had to admit, all of the food was absolutely delicious. In some areas, the chicken was a little bit overcooked and kind of dry, but it was still much better than the kind of food that Zack was used to. Zack reached out and took hold of his wine – it was blackberry, his favorite. He had only ever told that to Kane once. He was amazed that he had remembered.

"Zack, I want to ask you a question. Um… I love you, and I have for awhile, and I want you to be able to be with me forever and to be with Nell forever. So… would you marry me?"

Zack's eyes widened considerably and he nodded excitedly. "Yes! Yes, I'll marry you!"


	27. Z is for Zane

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone, other than Nell and Zane.  
**Rated:** M  
**Warning(s):** Slash, Mentioned Mpreg, Same-Sex Marriage, etc.

* * *

**Two Years Later**

"Do you want to come and meet your new baby brother?" Kane asked. Nell, who had been in the little playroom off of the maternity ward, looked at her father with her wide chocolate eyes.

"It's a boy?" Kane nodded. "Have you named him, Daddy?" Nell asked. She started to discard her toys and took Kane's hand as he led her out of the room and down the hall.

"His name is Zane Jacobs. He looks just like your Mommy." Kane told her. Nell started to put a picture together in her head. "But you know what? I think he looks a little like you too."

Nell looked at him innocently. "So, if he looks just like Mommy, does that mean that he has spiky hair and an orange headband?" Nell asked, her voice sickly-sweet.

Kane laughed. "No, sweetheart. He doesn't have any hair yet. But who knows? Maybe it will be spiky when he is older. Or maybe it will be curly, just like yours." Kane ruffled her soft, crimson curls.

"Daddy's silly." Nell chuckled, before she climbed into Kane's arms and rested her little head on his chest.

Silly. Well, that was the first time anyone had ever called the monster that. "No. Nell's silly."

Nell rolled her eyes. "Hey! I came up with that first!"

"Yes. You did." Kane nodded. Kane curled Nell's crimson curls around his finger.

Nell tilted her head to the side and smiled at him sweetly. Kane started to carry her in the direction of Zack's room. "Can we see the baby now, Daddy?"

Kane smiled and nodded. "Yes, sweetie. We can see the baby now." Kane told her. When they finally arrived in the room, Zack welcomed them with a warm smile.

Zack had a thin, slick sheen of sweat on his skin. A look of exhaustion had knotted its way into his skin and it made him look several years older than his thirty years. But it was all worth it. The little bundle that he held in his arms made it all worth it. He cradled a little baby in a loving embrace, the baby swaddled in blue blankets and suckling happily on his binky. His eyes were closed, but if they were open, they would be the most shocking shade of blue.

Kane set Nell on the foot of the bed and watched as she climbed up, careful to avoid Zack's long legs. She stared down at the little baby that her father had called her 'little brother'. He didn't look like a baby… well, certainly not like any of the baby dolls that Kane had bought for her. Tentatively, Nell reached out a little hand to touch her. However, when the baby let out a small squeak and opened his eyes, she yanked her hand away.

Kane shushed her softly and brushed her pretty curls out of her face, before he shifted her around so that she was better situated on the bed. And then, Zack leaned forward and set the little baby in her arms. Zane let out a small cry around his binky and the binky fell out of his mouth, but Zack was quick to retrieve it. He didn't want to scare Nell by having the baby start screaming while she held him.

"So, what do you think of your little brother?" Zack asked softly. He motioned for Nell to keep her voice down so that she wouldn't scare Zane.

"He's all squishy and tiny." Nell commented disdainfully. It was almost as if she had never seen a baby before. "But he's kinda cute… I think. Does he… does he like me?"

Zack nodded. "I'm sure that he does. But he's a baby, Cornelia. He doesn't know how to talk, so he can't really understand what like and dislike are. Do you know what I am saying?"

Nell looked at him as if he had suddenly obtained a third head. "I think so."

Kane looked from his husband to his two children. "This is our new little family, Nell. We may not be perfect, but I never really knew what perfect was. So, to me at least, this is the definition of perfect."

Zack smirked at him. "You're such a closet romantic, Kane!"

Kane narrowed his blue eyes at him. "Shut up."

Zack tried to look insulted, but ended up cracking up. "I just had a baby. Don't you think that you could at least try and be nice to me? You know, that was a lot of work!"

"I know. I'm sorry, baby. How about, as soon as you're released from the hospital, we all head out for pizza. I'm sure that Nell would use any excuse to eat more of that crap." Kane said.

Zack rolled his eyes. "I'm so glad that your concern for my health is so evident. Feed me crap? Really?"

Zane let out a tiny little cry and Nell softly shushed him, singing the song that Kane used to sing to her when she was little. Zack and Kane looked at her with a little smile, which showed all of the love and the pride that they felt for their little girl. Surprisingly, Kane hadn't found it difficult to allow someone else into their lives and consider them to be Nell's other parent. He had been with Nell since she was four and she loved him so, so much.

Kane leaned over and kissed the crown of Nell's head. Yes, his little family was perfect. When he was a child, his life had been ruined by one horrific fire that had killed his mother and father and had taken his brother from him. But really, in all of those years when he tried to deal with the deaths, he never envisioned that one day he would have a little girl, a loving husband, and a brand-new, precious baby boy.

"Hey, Daddy?" Nell turned to him, a weird look on her face.

"What is it, sweetheart?" He asked.

"I think Zane pooped in his diaper." Nell handed the baby over to Kane, who quickly found out that he had, in fact, soiled his diaper.

Kane chuckled. Yes, his family was perfect – soiled diapers and all.


End file.
